Lone Clone
by Princess Alexandria
Summary: Lilith was the first female clone made, but she was deemed 'damaged' and escaped. She found herself alone living off the streets of New York, but her one burning hope was to meet Demona, to form the clan she was create to be a part of. femslashAU
1. Chapter 1

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

Summary: Lilith was the first female clone made, the one made before Delilah. She wasn't what Thailog was after and found herself alone living off the streets of New York, but her one burning hope was to meet Demona, to form the clan she was created to be a part of. Femslash. May become AU.

AN: This is a prompt challenge fic, so I've listed the prompts before their section as a sort of section title. This challenge is going on at the gargfemslash yahoo group.

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I moved back just a little into the shadows as I stared at the building again. This was a painful obsession I'd developed over my short existence, the need to come back and stare at the scene of the crime weekly. I sighed and looked at the sign declaring this Nightstone Unlimited. For some people it was a place of work, and I could see a few windows with the lights on and janitors cleaning offices on the lower floors. I could also see a few light windows on the upper floors as well.

My eyes traveled down to the ground floor, knowing there were floors below that. I'd been in those floors. My first memory, and I only count the things I experienced not the programming that was done on me, was of the grey walls in the lab below this building. For some people this was a place that created things, sold things. For me it was the place I was created. Most people pointed to hospitals and said they were born there, others, few others, can say they were hatched. I can't claim to have been born or hatched. My fists clenched as that constant thought hit me again. Not born or hatched, not young or old. I just didn't fit into so many things.

My misfit status saved me once, because the thought of being HIS consort disgusted me. My first days of life were my luckiest, because I was quickly deemed 'damaged' and he never did touch me after he'd declared that with his irritating voice and condescending and unemotional decision to just make another female and have me killed didn't endear him to me either. I was harder to kill than they'd planned and I bet no one told him that I'd escaped.

On my way out I saw the others and I knew they were supposed to be my clan. They were in glass and only half formed. I haven't seen them since. I have no idea what happened to them, but they weren't here.

The upper floor window opened and I saw her standing for just a moment, before she jumped out. She was amazingly graceful and she caught the air so effortlessly. I found myself holding my breath as I watched the small loop she did in the air, thinking that it was the most controlled a gargoyle could ever be she flew like she really was born in the sky. She was the only gargoyle I ever saw here, but I'd seen others from a distance and this female was the only one to make flying look artistic, like an aerial dance. The others were clumsy in comparison. I'd never seen Thailog in the air, but I was glad to not see him. I had no idea what happened to him either, but I really hope it hurt and was lethal.

"I can't keep doing this." I whispered to myself as I stepped out of the shadows so that I could look up at the sky where she'd gone, searching for her. I was supposed to be a member of her clan, I remember that information. So were the others. When was I going to build up the courage to tell her that? How would she react? If she knew I was supposed to be her replacement with that male would she hate me? She'd been his lover, and while it said little for her judgment in my mind, perhaps he actually attempted to trick her into thinking he had a soul, I knew better rather quickly myself.

I jumped off the building and started to gain altitude. I looked around in the sky, wondering if this was the time I'd see her, if this time the choice would be taken from me and I'd meet her. I wanted her to be the one to make the first move, her to approach me. It would be easier than this waiting, and the way it made me feel like a coward.

With that thought in mind I gained altitude, hoping I was visible from a distance. My white hair should show up against the night, but my gray skin wouldn't help the cause. I felt a little rebellious as I tried that loop I'd seen her do. "She makes it look so easy." I muttered as my loop was far larger. I climbed higher and focused on what I wanted a moment, before I tried it again.

"I don't know you." A cold feminine voice spoke and I felt my heart pound hard in shock. The quick push of the blood from my heart and the adrenaline of the unexpected shot had my skin feeling hot a moment later, but I only wobbled a little in the air showing that shock. Turning I could see that the female I'd been watching regularly, weekly, was now right there. Be careful what you wish for, was the phrase my mind tormented me with as I looked into burning red eyes.

I'd seen pictures and thought she was beautiful, it was one of the reasons I wasn't thrilled to become Thailog's whore when he so graciously gave me the opportunity. He wasn't nearly as beautiful to me, he called that a genetic flaw when I told him I would prefer the Mistress. Looking at her now I could see she was just as attractive in person, but a lot more intimidating. "Hi." I gave a weak smile. "I'm Lilith." And I felt like an idiot. How many times had I rehearsed this conversation in my mind and this was all I said?

Maybe it had something to do with the way she was looking at me. She even shifted in flight to fly upside down to stare at me. I can't fly with my back to the ground, I'd crash into something. I didn't like the studying gaze, I felt like my features were being analyzed and I knew it wouldn't be long before she figured out who at least one of my genetic donors were, and that I wasn't hatched like a gargoyle should be. "I thought I shut down that program." Her voice growled a little.

I didn't know what to say to that. "I'm not new." I glanced up from her to where I was gliding and pulled up a bit to avoid a building, she matched me easily and I was a bit envious of her skill. "I've been around for a couple of months."

I think she smirked just a little. "Well that makes you downright ancient." Her voice was sarcastic, but I liked the hint of amusement in it. Her small smirk faded and she moved to do a barrel roll and ended up gliding beside me. "I see some Fox Xanatos in you, but clearly your genes were crossed with a gargoyle's as well." I could see her looking at my wings, searching for my parentage, if you could even call it that.

"That's all I know." I told her and sighed.

"From your wings I'd say you weren't the result of that bastard stealing my DNA." Demona was starting to sound a little more upbeat as she inspected me, so I didn't snap at her, even though it made me feel a little freakish to be visually dissected like this. By bastard I hope she meant Thailog, it filled me with some reassurance that he was gone.

I found myself being herded towards the nearest building, and this time I landed beside her rather than watching her from a distance. "So why haven't I seen you before?" Demona asked and I couldn't stop myself from sighing when I heard the question.

Somehow telling her about this felt like admitting to being deviant and broken, and I didn't want to tell her and find she agreed with the decision made about me. "I wasn't what Thailog wanted. He was looking for, well," I watched Demona's eyes light up like fire and didn't finish that sentence. "I didn't work out and I left before I could be destroyed."

Demona went quiet, but she was walking around me. "Please don't do that." I finally spoke up as she inspected me like a thing. No one ever treated me like a person and I hated it. Thailog and the Doctor had been much worse, but still it hurt. For a moment I thought she'd hit me for saying anything, Thailog would have. I felt a bit of hope grow as seconds passed and I wasn't hit or yelled at. Demona moved to stand in front of me again, looking curious but not angry.

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Prompt: Food and Drink

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I took the moment to study her face since she was looking at me, but I could see she wasn't looking at me in the same way. She wasn't trying to figure my DNA out, now it was just trying to figure me out. It was a step in the right direction.

"So why haven't I seen you before now?" Demona repeated and I found myself more focused on her voice than her words. I liked her voice; it was nice, softer now. It took me a moment to remember it came with words and I blushed a little at my standing there just listening.

"I avoid Manhattan. It isn't really safe; I can't find safe places for the day." I told her, and really aside from Friday's I never was in Manhattan. The Quarrymen had almost caught me once, I'd woken to rubble around me from the statues I'd decided to spend the day near, but my own spot had been hidden, or they'd been interrupted. After that I left the rooftops of the city.

"But you're here now." Demona had to pick up on that, I looked down at the rooftop under my feet and considered an answer.

"On Friday's you go gliding." I felt embarrassed and I couldn't look her in the face as I spoke, but it took a moment to realize that looking her in the cleavage wasn't better. I moved my eyes focus to her neck. "I feel clumsy in the air, so I try and learn by watching you." I left out how I just liked being near another gargoyle, even if it was just weekly. I left out how I was almost surprised I could still speak because I never was around anyone so I could keep that particular skill up. I left out how painful it was to just exist to search out food and to drink from any puddle I could find. I had no life beyond that, except for those nights were I could watch her glide, those nights I had art to appreciate and another like me, but not, so I wasn't so alone.

"I see I'm getting too predictable." Demona's words surprised me and I looked up into her face again, she looked just a little irritated with herself. "My patterns shouldn't be so easy to figure out." When she went quiet I just stood there, feeling awkward as I struggled to think of something to say. I liked her predictability, but it looks like I was about to lose that.

The silence was really starting to bother me, which was odd because usually that was all I had. But to have her here, to have her see me, I wanted to talk with her. I didn't want to have her decide to just leave me here. "You glide like an angel." I spoke so quietly, and then my eyes widened when I realized that I'd spoken without thinking first. I blamed my months of isolation for that, but it didn't mean the words weren't spilled out. Normally I talked to myself, but she was here.

She looked just a little amused, so I started to relax. "You want gliding lessons?" After a moment I nodded, hoping she was offering. "Once you can glide on your own, it's really just practice. You need to practice sharp turns, perhaps try gliding in tight spaces. That's how you learn control." I felt my heart drop a little in disappointment as my chance to be near her was ruined.

"I guess." I muttered while looking away. My disappointment hurt. How was I supposed to get better when usually all my time was spent searching for shelter and food? The only reason I was able to come here on Fridays was that I had just resigned myself to fasting on Fridays so that I could watch her glide. It took a long time to get from the neighborhood I'd deemed somewhat safe into Manhattan, and it would take time to get back. I was rarely lucky enough to find a dumpster with good food in just the few hours I had left after getting back. I suspect the humans have already picked through the good food by early morning.

"I was on my way to get something to eat. Would you like to join me?" Demona spoke and I just stared for a moment, sure that I'd dreamed that part.

"You know where the good food is? I can't find good dumpsters around here, too many humans always feed first and nothing is left." I spoke up and then when her features changed, her eyes started to glow, I took a step back. What had I done wrong? I needed to learn to not say the things I thought, as I considered my error. Of course Demona wouldn't eat from dumpsters.

The glow on Demona's eyes didn't fade. "Dumpsters. You eat out of dumpsters?" I just nodded a little, ashamed. "No we aren't eating from dumpsters tonight. I'm taking you to my home, and you'll eat fresh food that hasn't been partly spoiled."

"Thank you." I spoke softly. It would be nice to eat first for a change.

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Prompt: Tattoo

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"Follow me and do what I do. I might as well take a look at your gliding skills." Demona spoke and leapt off the building. I stood just a moment and then felt the grin start to grow on my face, it was unstoppable. I was going to get a lesson in gliding from the most graceful gargoyle in the city. After I realized that I rushed to the side of the building and jumped off so she wouldn't get too far away.

At first Demona started with a few dives and sharp lifts, as well as sharp turns around buildings as we made our way across the city. I felt my shoulders and wings aching already, but I did my best. I wobbled a bit when changing direction and I lost the current once or twice, but I made sure to try my hardest.

I found breathing a bit difficult as well. It was with a strong sense of envy that I watched her do that loop I thought was so impressive, and a bit of shame. My muscles ached so much I knew that if I tried that it would look worse that my attempt earlier. I took a moment to catch my breath by stopping the follow the leader and I just glided after her while glancing around. The city lights were mostly behind us now.

"What's the matter?" Demona was gliding upside down under me suddenly and I smiled just a little. It almost seemed like the gargoyle was showing off now, because I sure couldn't follow her anymore.

"Is it much farther?" I asked, and I nibbled very gently on my lower lip after I'd spoken, hoping we were close.

"Tired already?" I nodded to her words. It wasn't like I could hide that I wasn't in shape like her. "Lilith, how much do you glide on a regular basis?"

"Not nearly enough." I answered and then glanced up to make sure neither of us were on a collision course with anything. I could see we were far from my neighborhood, in the opposite direction most likely. Getting home was going to be impossible. "Can you put me up for the day? I'm lost, I wasn't paying attention to where we were." I was too busy following her to do that and now I saw that was a little stupid.

Hey, maybe once I stayed one day she'd let me just stay. I imagined that where ever Demona called home would be safe. And hey, she actually had food too.

"I suppose I could find a place for you." Demona's answer made me feel better about losing my way, or the fact that I was too tired to make it back to my own neighborhood.

"I was supposed to be your clan." I spoke softly and stared down into her face. I noticed a small flinch at my words. "What happened to the others?"

"Things didn't work out." Demona looked away and barrel rolled out from under me. She was once again gliding beside me. "They currently live in the tunnels under the city."

My jaw dropped opened as I thought about a tunnel. It made my unsafe day spots seem wonderful in comparison. "In the tunnels? Gargoyles don't belong underground."

"Don't look at me, I didn't do that." Demona was looking at me and I just waited for the rest. Whoever would put gargoyles underground was crazy. I would go insane if I couldn't glide at least once in a while. That explained why I never saw them, they couldn't go gliding. I felt bad for them and grateful that I wasn't still with them. "Goliath decided to hide the clones away because they made him uncomfortable. Not all gargoyles accept clones as gargoyles."

I felt a wave of pain at that thought. I know I was treated differently, but to think I could be locked underground was scaring me. "You see me as a gargoyle don't you?" I asked, afraid of the answer. Maybe she wasn't willing to say I could stay with her because she didn't want me around, not really. But then why would she have approved making any gargoyles? I knew I hadn't been approved, that was clear because of what Thailog wanted me for, but Demona had approved the making of some gargoyles, clones. She had approved it, she'd worked hard for it.

"You look like a gargoyle to me." Demona spoke and she smiled a little. It helped unclench my heart from fear to see that. Demona turned to look where we were going, so I did too. There were trees and smaller streets with just the occasional car under us. "Almost there."

I sighed in relief, but then the shove I suddenly felt on my back that had me stumbling in the air had me gasping. Once I straightened out and stopped falling Demona was in front of me. "Catch me." She yelled out and started to gain speed with a playful laugh.

I just stared stupidly for a moment, before I grinned and tried to do as she asked. I hissed in pain as I attempted her sharp turns, but I was having fun even if my body didn't care for it. I tried to rise up above her, but she seemed to see everything in the air and I found myself behind again.

Once she landed in the backyard of a large house I followed her down, but I looked around with wide eyes. The lawn was large and the back porch light was on. "Come on in." Demona waved for me to hurry up and stop staring.

"You live here?" I asked as I stared around at bushes and stone walkways. My head turned to look at all I could. It was nice, and the house was getting closer. "Oh this is nice." I muttered and I looked around for a prime day spot, seeing so many if this place was as safe as I suspected. I could just blend in here, she already had a couple of statues.

"Thank you." Demona told me but she was focused on pushing some buttons on a control of some sort. The beep happened and then she opened the back door. "Come on in. I'll see about a meal." Those words made me have to swallow my saliva. Food, I was always so hungry, so knowing I was going to eat well was a treat.

"Thank you." I spoke as I closed the back door, seeing that we'd come into the kitchen of the house. It was large, with an island in the middle and a large fridge that Demona was already standing in front of and opening. I could see food, vegetables, some sort of juice container. My heart started to beat a little faster in anticipation.

She was just pulling item after item out and putting them on the counter and I stood there starting to feel a little awkward. "I heard you could be human in the day. Is that how you are able to have a house?"

"I owned a few homes before that damned spell." Demona spoke into the fridge, but I could hear her words easily. "But I did buy this one after, Dominique needed a residence on the records." I blinked and thought a moment, but then my programming caught up and I remembered the name of her human form. It wasn't something I was told, it was something I was created knowing.

Sometimes I worried that what I thought I knew wasn't real at all.

"Oh." I spoke, because I felt I should, but I couldn't even grasp having the ability to buy a home as a gargoyle. Demona clearly knew tricks I didn't, tricks beyond how to glide.

"So Lilith, any preference between steak or chicken?" Demona asked and I just stared at her as she turned to look at me. They both sounded so good. "Okay, both." Demona answered herself and I smiled big. I was right all those Fridays, I liked this gargoyle. She just got better the more I saw of her.

I sat down hesitantly, feeling a bit awkward as I watched her cook. I didn't know how to help. It was something Thailog had left out of my programming, but I bet he wished he'd left it in when he saw that spot had been filled with some self respect instead.

"I'm surprised the clan never found you." Demona spoke as she turned away from the oven.

"I avoided them." I grimaced. They were a bunch of males and, well, my only experience with a gargoyle male wasn't all that positive. Now that I knew they put clones underground I'd be even more careful to avoid them. "I had a few close calls, but they are a bit noisy, so I was able to avoid them."

As Demona cooked, she also talked to me about small things. She'd ask about where I stayed during the day, what I did usually. I found my answers seemed to make her tense. She was especially tense when I mentioned the time I almost was smashed during the day.

Dinner smelled so good that after a little while I had trouble concentrating on talking with her. I started to just inhale deeply. She dished us up and brought me a plate. I found it a little hard to use the utensils she gave me, but I watched her and tried to copy what she did. It was something I was programmed with, but had never had a chance to use much.

After dinner I stood near the living room and my eyes widened as I caught the cover of a magazine on the table. Demona was busy with loading the dish washer, but I took a step into the other room.

On the front cover of the magazine was my face, pale and different, but it was my face. I found myself reaching out to pick up the business magazine, ignoring the other human on the cover as I stared at the redhead with the strange blue tattoo on her face.

My talon was caressing the spot of blue when Demona stepped into the room. I could hear her, but somehow my eyes stayed on the magazine. "I never saw a picture of her." I whispered to explain myself.

"Yes well she ends up in the newspapers and magazines all the time, so finding more won't be a problem." Demona grumbled and I looked up at her.

"I see why you could figure out I had some of her DNA." I glanced down at the picture. "Do you think I'd look better with a tattoo on my face too?"

"You are a predator, you don't need to put a tattoo on to pretend to be one." Demona told me, but I looked at the tattoo again. I was a gray gargoyle, gray like a dry street, with my lips darker. My hair was white, my eyes sometimes glowed red, and my clothes were black. A splash of color might be nice.

A small chuckled escaped me. Like I could afford a tattoo, or could even go into a place and get one. This was a stupid line of thought. I looked up at Demona again. She was a pretty blue with red hair, I found myself comparing us suddenly, searching her features in the much better light of the house. Her DNA would have been nice to have as well, I decided. I put the magazine down and glanced at the clock. "You did say I could stay right?"

"I think it would be best if you were in the backyard." Demona spoke and I started in that direction. Daylight was coming soon, and I should prepare.

I felt her eyes on me as I moved next to the other statue, but it was more of a birdbath really. I pulled my wings in tight, squatted down, and wrapped my arms around my knees. I know it isn't the traditional pose, but it left little sticking out to get easily smashed. I'd adopted this pose after waking up to see limbs scattered around me. I would not be as easily broken. As the sun rose over the horizon I prepared to lower my head, but a scream to the side of me had me turning in concern.

Demona looked to be in pain and my eyes widened, but before I could move more I felt the stone encase me.


	2. Chapter 2

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

Part 2

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Prompt: Massage – section 4

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I heard the cracking as the sunset started to set me free and I stood up, stretching. The roar from my lips was something I had no control over as I let it echo out into Demona's back yard. Once I was free I looked around me, searching for the female that had been there with me, but she wasn't there now.

I'd heard she didn't turn to stone, and I'd known it, but now I was concerned. "Demona?" I called out as I took a step toward the house, but I was looking around outside as I made my way to the house.

The back door opened and I felt a wave of relief to see the blue female looking at me. "Demona, what was that?" I moved closer, the look of pain on her face while I was turning to stone still filled my thoughts.

"Nothing you need to be concerned about." Demona's answer didn't make me too happy, but I sure wasn't going to argue if she didn't want to talk about it. She managed to change the subject well with her next words. "So I have breakfast ready for you, but then I thought we should work on strengthening your gliding muscles. It really isn't a good idea to tire so easily Lilith, you've seen how the hunters go after our kind and I can tell you that when they use helicopters it is hard to shake them. You need to be agile to survive."

I couldn't stop grinning at those words. After months of wandering alone and envying her ability, she was going to teach me. If I even learned a fraction of her skill I'd be thrilled. The other gargoyles in the city were better at gliding than me, but they weren't graceful, purposeful in their movements. They didn't have Demona's beauty in the air. I wanted that so badly that even hungry and used to never getting enough food, I was tempted to skip the meal she made me so we could start gliding.

She held the door opened for me and I looked away from her, feeling a wave of shyness. This is a gargoyle that I admired and she held the door opened to me, it seemed surreal and like I might still be in my stone sleep dreaming. Life had changed dramatically in just twenty four hours, and I still felt stunned happy disbelief.

"You are rather thin, and we need to build you up." Demona spoke before she set a plate down in front of me and I stared at the abundance of eggs on it. The plate was rather full. "Your diet was doing your body no favors, and you need protein to build strong gliding muscles." I looked up at her but I didn't know what to say. I felt shaky and my heart was beating with a touch of pain in it, as I looked back down at the plate. One meal wasn't going to fix months of eating out of dumpsters, and Demona had to know it. She was going to keep me, I noticed my vision was getting blurry through the water in my eyes, and I did my best to just nod and pull the plate closer. I didn't ask in case I was wrong, but I really thought this was it. Clan, she was going to accept me into her clan. My arm was a little shaky as I tried to use the fork again and I ate quietly, no longer in a rush to glide, because this meal came with a promise and I wanted to savor that.

This was such a nice house, and the yard was huge. There were tall brick fences and I could easily see myself happily living out my life in this house. She had food, her fridge was full. She was willing to teach me, and she knew more than any gargoyle I had seen. She was willing to treat me like a gargoyle, not a clone. I took a shaky breath as she moved to get herself something to drink and I ate slowly and quietly. I'd accept all those things, and I showed that in my silence, I hope I did. I wanted her to know I'd accept, so that she might just verbalize it. Tell me she wanted me to stay.

"The city is really the best place to practice gliding. There is a lot to dodge and swerve around and the thermals are odd and it requires a lot of attention to detail or you lose them." Demona was speaking but when I stopped eating to look up she waved at the plate, telling me to eat without words. "Also the distance would be a good warm up for you."

"Thank you." I spoke after I swallowed the food in my mouth.

"It's nothing. I could use a work out too, and I'll train you so that you can give me one." Demona smiled and I felt my heart constrict again. That was invitation enough, she was definitely keeping me.

Eating everything on my plate was a bit hard, but I managed it. I felt too full after I'd finished and I wondered if it would slow me down in the air, but hopefully it wouldn't.

"I usually take off from the upstairs, and this is going to be challenging for you." Demona spoke as she led me upstairs. "You have to catch the air fast or you'll fall to the ground." I nodded to show I was paying attention, but I was used to taking off from closer to the ground, because where I lived they didn't have skyscrapers. That was one skill I was a little confident about, getting in the air. She continued to talk and I quietly listened. "You were exhausted yesterday, but the stone sleep should have fixed your muscle aches." I nodded, I felt fine. "So we'll push you like that every night and you'll find your endurance increasing."

Every night, I slowed my steps toward the room with the window she wanted as I considered those words. "I don't know how to thank you enough for this." I had to say it. Sure she didn't come right out and tell me I was living here, but it was pretty clear now.

Demona looked a bit thoughtful as she turned to look at me, and this time I didn't complain about the searching look. "We'll see how grateful you are after I work you into the ground tonight." Sure it was a little gruff and it made me think of a drill sergeant, but I was eager to work hard and show her I could get better. I was also eager to watch her glide from closer than a building across the street.

We took off and the slightly surprised look on her face made me feel a little proud as she noticed I had no trouble with the second story take off.

"We're going to glide to NightStone and back." Demona said as she glided up to match me in the air. Looking at the ground I made a guess about the direction I'd come from the night before and started off. She didn't correct me, so I must have been right. "I'd like to take you inside and see if we can find out who your other DNA donor is. I suspect it's Goliath." Her words bothered me.

"Why does it matter?" I asked and started to gain altitude. She matched me easily and was graceful enough not to hit me in spite of gliding so closely.

"To me it doesn't really, but if the clan finds you they have a real double standard about clones." Demona smirked. "Goliath has a soft spot for his own clones, offering chance after chance. He really is very gullible like that." I didn't really understand this, unless Goliath had actually liked Thailog and the idea was rather hard to grasp. Thailog was a real evil piece of work. "He assumed that I was manipulating Thailog," Demona's smile faded and her eyes glowed, "but apparently it was the other way around."

I felt uncomfortable at that moment, very extremely uncomfortable. My mere existence was testimony to Thailog's manipulating this female, and I felt a little guilty even though I hadn't played into his sick game. My voice was almost too soft to hear over the wind. "I'm sure he was convincing."

"He was." Demona's words were angry and then she went quiet. I focused on the land marks to try and head in the right direction, but soon I'd need her to lead us. "What did he tell you about what he was doing?" Her question wasn't welcome at all, and I sighed.

"He was making a clan." That was the most obvious thing in the world. "And he wanted to include more females than Goliath's clan had, but he wanted more than to just include them. He wanted more lovers." I swallowed hard. "And when I wasn't willing to give in to him he turned to the doctor and said I was a failure and they'd need to start over." He'd also talked about modifying the programming, so I expect I should pity the second female created. She'd have less free will, that was certain, and she'd have been filled with a strong heterosexual orientation if that could even be done. Thailog had ignored me and talked about me right there in front of me, debating about whether it was Fox's DNA or the other sample that caused the problem.

"So he was going to kill you?" Demona asked and there was more curiosity in her voice so I paused mentally and considered what I should tell her. There were probably notes somewhere that she could find that would explain why I was slated for death, and they might even be in that lab under NightStone.

"He didn't want competition, he wanted a consort." I swallowed, nervous and scared. I needed her as my clan.

"Competition?" She wasn't letting it go and I sighed heavily. I was a little too nervous, because I was hit by a bit of wind and it made me stumble far more than it should have. I really wasn't happy with embarrassing myself on something easy like gliding in a straight line. I looked over at her and she was watching me with a slight frown. That analyzing look was back, and I was afraid what she'd assume. Maybe something could be worse than the truth.

"I prefer females. I had no interest in him. That's why he named me Lilith, he said it had some mythical meaning. Basically he told me she was the one made first and she rejected Adam and wouldn't obey him. He said he'd start work on his Eve as soon as possible." It had been strange that he spoke so intellectually in front of me then waved his arm and ordered my destruction. Lilith was my name and I lived with it, but I would never forget how I got it, it was like I was nothing to him, and he was a clone too. He should have had some conscience about it all, but he was just not normal. If any clone were worth destroying it was him, not me.

"He named her Delilah instead." Demona spoke and I noticed she had a small pleased smile. "I'm glad he tasted a little rejection before he betrayed me like that." Her smile was vindictive and I knew it was powered by bitterness, but I was glad that my actions made her happy. I was also glad that she didn't even comment on what else I said, she just turned a little, starting to guide me to Manhattan.

It was quiet as I followed her, and I suspected she needed time to think, so I didn't try to talk. Instead I focused on learning the way. If I was going to be living with her and training I'd probably be taking this flight often. I noticed what I could of the landmarks I assumed she used, every time she turned I looked around for what she was seeing to mark the path.

I was focused on looking for the latest landmark as she turned, and the sudden push on my back had me tensing up in shock and falling. Once I managed to catch air again I looked up to see her laughing at me and waving, before she started to glide away faster. I grinned and turned as sharply as I could to give chase. I liked this game.

She was amazing and I was in awe as I tried to follow her, but she was gaining altitude so fast I just couldn't do it. I felt slow and feeble, but I finally managed to match her. I watched as she zipped between the cables of a bridge, she turned and zipped through them again and again, almost as if she were a needle and it was the fabric, she dove in and out, all in the time it took me to glide after her normally. She laughed at my stunned expression when she noticed it and that's how I realized I was staring at her dumbly. "Not even going to try?" She teased, but watching her do it, I really didn't think I could just yet. I had trouble with sharp turns.

"I hope I can do that someday." I told her as she moved to glide beside me again. I stared back at the cables of the bridge and then at her. "Do you think I will?"

"We'll keep working until you can." She nodded and turned to face the city we had almost reached. "But I think you need to push yourself a bit more, so." Her words trailed off and when I looked to my left my eyes widened, she wasn't even there anymore. I'd lost her. I looked around frantically, but the shove on my back was hard and answered that question. "Catch me!" Demona called out and then she dove down. I could feel myself starting to get tired already, but I dove as well.

I found myself getting closer and I reached out in anticipation of being able to grab her by the tail at least, I was smiling, but then when I reached out a blinding pain started in my shoulders and worked its way down my back. "AH," I lost altitude as my right wing started to spasm. "Help!" I called out, but I was trying so hard to get my wing to stop shaking and carry me down to a rooftop safely.

"Ah, Ah," I was gritting my teeth against the pain and fell to the rooftop, falling on hands and knees. I could tell I'd scraped up skin, but I was trying to reach back and grab my protesting wing. My back pain increased if I tried to turn a little or reach back.

"Here, Here." Demona was beside me quickly and I felt warm hands grip my wing and then she was rubbing the screaming muscle. "Cramping like that, I didn't think you were this bad off Lilith." Demona's voice was soft and I grimaced with each rub, knowing it had to be done but it hurt. She kept rubbing, massaging, the aching muscle until it was no long pain in every touch, it started to feel like it was helping and I sighed once it had reached that point. Demona kept working my poor muscle, but now she was using her other hand to move my wing a little up and down, back and forth.

"I thought I was doing fine." I told her and leaned back into her touch a bit. Probably enough to be noticed, but she kept touching me, helping me. I could never get to those muscles myself.

She kept rubbing, now taking in the surrounding muscles. "That's dangerous to over do it like this. Did you ever glide much at all?"

"Just a little between buildings, and then on Friday's I'd glide into the city." I answered her. I had avoided gliding around a lot during the week to save up my strength for Fridays, but apparently that wasn't how it was done. I should have been gliding more.

"Stand up." She ordered and she even helped me do it. Then she was rubbing my wing joints a bit more firmly, and I decided right then that almost falling to my death was a fair price to pay for this, because this was nice. I'd never been touched so gently before and I found myself staying very quiet so that she could focus on me like this. "Look, we're almost to my company. I think we should stop there for a while and let you rest. We can look into the clone records and then when we head back we'll do it in smaller steps."

"Okay." I answered, but I was a little irritated with myself, it was my fault the fun ended.

"Push your wings back and raise them up high." She said after she'd stopped touching and she stepped around so that I could. It hurt a little, but nothing like it had been hurting. "Is it okay?"

"I think so." I answered, while moving them out further from my body and stretching them out as far apart as they'd go.

"Nice wingspan you got there." Demona spoke and she was grinning a little wickedly at me. I blushed and I didn't even know what the joke was.

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Prompt: Fight – section 5

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"So this tears it, it was Goliath." Demona spoke from in front of the computer, but I hadn't been paying too much attention to her words until that moment. Instead I was staring at the equipment that created me. It made me feel dirty, and seeing where the rest of the clan was created was a little lonely feeling. They at least had each other, I thought for a moment, but then just being in this windowless place bothered me, so I'd never survive in tunnels. I had it better in that I had the ability to glide, and I now had an amazing teacher.

To hear that one of my genetic donors was Thailog's as well, it made me a bit sick. He was more twisted than I'd thought. It wouldn't have been that hard to use one of the other gargoyles as a donor, but he'd selected Goliath's for what he wanted to be his consort. It made him seem dangerously insane that this was the path he took. I looked over at Demona and noticed she looked a little disgusted as well, but thankfully it didn't seem to be aimed at me. "I can't believe that male." Demona muttered and I fully relaxed, to know my genetic heritage wasn't ruining anything for me.

"So if they catch me I should drop his name like crazy and hope for some pity?" I asked with a little bit of sarcasm. I didn't intend to go peacefully to the tunnels if it came to that, no they'd have to drag me biting and clawing.

Demona's attention was on me and she stared a moment, but there was a hint of a smile. "That would be a good idea. It would sure do a lot more for you than dropping mine."

I was aware that Demona wasn't a part of that clan anymore, my programming included the ability to fight gargoyles and a bit of information on the gargoyles in Goliath's clan. It was assumed I'd battle them at some point. My programming also included Demona in that way and I'd never talk about that. There was little doubt in my mind I was supposed to betray her along with Thailog. I didn't want her thinking that was my plan now, and I doubted I could beat her even if I wanted to.

I looked around at the lab again, and then at Demona reading a file she had on the table next to the computer. "There's nothing wrong with me is there?" I asked, feeling a bit nervous just being here, but seeing her study my file like that was unnerving.

"No," Demona looked away from the screen at me. "No, nothing that I see here, but it doesn't hurt to double check what the good Dr. Sevarius has done. I find he is a slimy and unpredictable human and we don't want any surprises." Well, obviously she's met him, I thought sarcastically, but I felt better knowing she was checking for me. I hadn't even considered what that man might have put in me other than to be concerned with poor programming. "Do you have any understanding of genetics?" She asked and that made me turn to stare at the place I was created as I considered that question.

With my programming I sometimes didn't know what I did know unless a situation came up where I needed it. My fighting ability came to me right as they were about to kill me, and I'd frozen for a moment too long as I had a flash of knowledge hit me. Now I just knew it, but then it had been a shock and they'd been too stunned by my freezing and staring at nothing to attack for that precious few moments I needed to learn to defend myself. Those thugs had to have lied about killing me or Thailog would have hunted me down.

"Can I see a file?" I asked, thinking that maybe I did know something. I was supposed to be the first and now I started to wonder if I was supposed to be the mother of them all. Demona got up and moved to the side, leaving the chair opened for me.

As I sat I found myself staring at the screen filled with medical notes and equations about the chemicals used. I stopped moving as I stared and it felt like a rush of light and a wave of knowledge hit me. I knew this stuff. "It looks like I was supposed to be the Doctor's assistant." I spoke after I could focus again and I noticed Demona looking at me with some concern. She'd moved from where she'd been, so time had passed. "I was supposed to help bring about the next generation of clones. How sexist. I was female so I was responsible for them." I muttered.

"I want to copy these files and have you double check them for surprises." Demona spoke.

"I don't think I have that much understanding." I looked back at the screen. "I am female, and neither of them thought much of females. I'd be surprised if I knew more than just enough to be an assistant. They were more interested in how I'd look than how I'd think."

Demona made some sort of half amused half disgusted snort and I looked over at her. She had a small smirk. "And yet they ended up with a feminist lesbian gargoyle. I love justice sometimes." Demona glanced at the screen. "I suspect someone didn't check what they were putting in your programming carefully enough."

I grimaced at my personality not even being considered my own, or that she seemed to think of my beliefs and orientation were her own personal vengeance against Thailog. To be programmed means to doubt a lot about what you feel is true about yourself and I didn't like it. Demona seemed to sense my mood because her smile faded and she just studied me for a moment, before turning to the place I was created. She didn't speak for a while. "If the humans hadn't destroyed so many clans we wouldn't have needed to resort to cloning to create more gargoyles." She spoke with a hint of anger, but her voice was quiet. "I needed a full grown clan, I wasn't prepared to raise a clan from hatchlings. It was a decision both Thailog and I made, to aim for an age where you all would be a true asset to our goals."

"I understand all that." I spoke, letting her know I didn't blame her for the fact I had been programmed, or that I never had been a hatchling.

"Of course now I know he had more than one reason to have the clones made full grown." Demona growled a little and I just turned to focus back on the computer screen. I couldn't say anything to make it easier for her to know.

I scrolled down on the screen, looking at a few more notes. "I need time for this. It's pretty complicated."

"I'll copy it all and you can use my computer at home to go over it. If you need books or other files you can just let me know." Demona spoke and while it was a job that would take time, my mind stayed on the way she'd said home. I liked how she just assumed I'd stay with her.

It took a while to copy everything, but Demona put it all in a bag and we took the elevator up to her office so we could start back to the house. I wasn't able to call it home just yet, but maybe soon I'd feel secure enough to say it. It's just she hadn't come out and said it was my home yet.

She carried the bag. "No tag on the way back. If you get tired tell me and we'll make some stops on the way." Demona told me before she leapt out of the window, the only opening window in a building this tall I'd assume, but I just jumped out after her.


	3. Chapter 3

Sire

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Bathing – Section 6

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I'd been at her house for two more nights, training until my wings ached each night and then when she thought I couldn't train any more I would start on the computer files. I felt like I was making some progress physically, but the files were full of things I didn't understand well enough to be sure. I glanced around at what had become my desk and looked at the stack of books that Demona had gotten me. I wanted to make sure that they hadn't done something to me, so I worked hard, but now I needed a break. I'd been at it for a while. "Demona?" I called out and listened to the quiet of the house. There was no answer.

With a sigh I started to close the computer file I'd been looking at and opened up the internet. Typing was a little difficult for me, but I could use the mouse like a pro, so I clicked and slowly typed what I needed, which was something fun to read. I'd seen Demona reading some book the other night, but looking at her collection it was all, well, not too interesting to me. I had the impression she didn't read for fun very much since her library was business and science oriented. I was sick of science and didn't have an interest in business.

When I found the site I was impressed. A site dedicated to buying books. I looked around and found a few novels and a couple non-fiction books that looked pretty good. That's when I glanced back at the science books on the table I used as my desk and sighed. I had no idea if she'd buy these for me, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. She was the clan leader after all, not that she'd ever said it, but that came with the responsibility to make sure her clan was happy as they could be. A few books weren't asking too much. I repeated these thoughts in my head as I started to look for Demona.

I also didn't know the address so I could have the books shipped. I thought I heard something upstairs so I started up there and slowly made my way to a door that sounded like it had someone behind it. "Hey Demona?" I called out as I opened the door, but I froze as I stood there in the doorway looking in. Demona was laying in a tub of water with bubbles, her hair wet to her head and that tiara she always wore wasn't over her eyeridge. I blinked, but I couldn't look away.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I stared, but the bubbles and water were thick and deep, so all I saw was her shoulders and folded wings. They showed that she was naked in that tub.

When she looked at me I got the feeling I wasn't really welcome, and that I'd embarrassed her. I stood still, unsure of what I should do. Should I turn around and just leave? "I'm bathing." Demona finally answered and I heard the water shift as she did. She stared at me and I knew I was blushing a little as she wrapped her arms over the ledge of the tub and stared at me. "The stone sleep cleans you, but I don't have that anymore."

"Oh, I never thought," I muttered as I considered that. "It must be nice to not be vulnerable like that though." I said it, but she was shifting and the bubbles were moving and I was finding it hard to think.

"Yes, well, be careful what you ask for." Demona's eyes flashed red just a moment and I watched them fade back to normal. "Remember that Lilith, if a Fey offers you anything be careful. They always twist things and you are never happy with what you end up with."

I nodded, and managed a word, "Okay," but my eyes were stuck on how the water made her skin glisten in a very pretty way. Blue skin looked nice wet, and her hair was so red. Her lips curved just a little into a smirk and I found I was staring and blinked and looked away. "Sorry I interrupted your," My mind searched for the word. "Bath."

"That's okay." Demona reassured me and I nodded, not knowing what else to do. I stood still and when her wings moved up and shifted a bit I found myself watching them move the water, and the bubbles around. I could see a wave and water distorted view of her body and there was blue and no clothes at all in there. "But staring like that is pushing it a little." She spoke and my eyes snapped back to her face, where she had a confident smirk. "I'd say this is new, and I've been around a long time. More than a couple of months."

"What?" I asked, and this time I kept my eyes on her face. It was hard, but I was managing it.

"None of my sisters ever stared at me like you do." Demona spoke and I blushed hard and looked away altogether, to study the small bottles and things on the bathroom counter. "Lesbian gargoyles are so rare I've never seen one before." I grimaced, thinking that my slim chance of finding a mate were now zero. I was probably the only living Lesbian gargoyle in the world, and even if someone were out there, I was a clone too. Not a point I wanted to think about.

When she shifted and then stood up my eyes widened and I was quickly losing the battle to not look. Water cascaded off of her body in rivulets and her skin was glistening. Her nipples were a deeper blue and briefly I thought of my own deeper gray nipples and gargoyle coloring, but that was just a moment. I wasn't capable of much thought on a whole.

A soft laugh pulled my eyes back to her face, where she was shaking her head slowly from side to side. "Definitely different." Demona smirked and turned to grab a towel off of a towel rack. "What was so important you needed to find me?"

I stared at she started to towel off her arms, and torso. I stared with wide eyes, until I managed to pull my eyes away and looked at the interesting assortment of bottles near the sink. "Um, I wanted to buy a couple of novels, and maybe some other things."

"You could make a list and I'll pick it up during the day." She spoke and I felt a bit of envy that she could do that. I listened as Demona stepped out of the tub, and could hear her talon's click on the bathroom floor as they made contact with it.

"I found a website. They deliver right to the door." I told her and her small hmm sound didn't sound convinced.

"I'm not here during the day to guard you." Demona spoke quietly. "I don't feel comfortable with a human in the yard where you sleep. I'd rather take your list to a bookstore." I turned to look at her at that moment. My eyes trailed over her face and she looked serious. She wanted to protect me. I felt shaky inside and I stared into her eyes.

"Okay." It felt kind of nice to be cared about like that. When she moved to lift the towel to her hair, leaving her body bare as she dried her hair, I blushed again and looked away. "I'll go make that list." I rushed the words out and moved backwards toward the door.

As I made my way down the hall I heard her chuckling. She'd been teasing me the entire time. It finally registered and I looked back toward the bathroom door as I tried to figure out how I could make such a fool of myself. The memory of her body answered my question. She was so beautiful.

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Prompt: purring - section 7

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I saw her turning sharply around the edge of the building and I took a deep breath to prepare for my own attempt. These buildings were so close that I anticipated a problem if I even made the turn. My eyes widened to see that I didn't have room to have my wings spread as I made the turn and the tips of my wings painfully banged into the buildings on both sides for a moment before I could pull them in. "Damn it!" I hissed and then I focused on just making it out of the narrow opening as safely as I could. The wind pushed me around and it was a struggle to not ram into brick on one side of me or the other.

Demona was easily staying in the center, her wings pulled tighter to her and I tried to copy her form, but now my wings were hurting in a new way and I didn't like the shooting pain of ramming them into something, the ache that wasn't fading as fast as I'd like. I watched as she darted up and down and my eyes widened as I realize there were clothes lines there.

I narrowed my eyes and focused hard on the area in front of me, having to pull up fast as I saw a line. I went two more windows and then I had to dodge down. My heart was pounding as I felt my tail snap that line, at least it wasn't my head. I was about ready to just rise up and out of the obstacle course, but another line appeared in front of me and I had to dive to avoid it. My foot snapped that one and tshirts started to float to the ground as I just clenched my jaw and decided to finish this. I moved my arms out in front of me so that I didn't get a line to my throat, because at this speed that could kill me.

I had to dodge three more times before I finally broke out from between the buildings. I looked around and I couldn't see Demona anywhere as I rose higher into the air.

"How many did you hit?" Her voice was suddenly above me and I felt my heart stop for just a moment, before I found her taking the space next to me.

"You like to scare me don't you?" I muttered, embarrassed at being caught again, and also unwilling to admit to how many lines I did hit.

"So how many?" Demona moved to glide upside down under me again and I stared down at her.

"At least two." I admitted. She just nodded.

"We'll do that weekly until you can tell me none, that you dodged them all." Demona barrel rolled and was now on my other side. "This is how you gain control. A sharp turn and the ability to dodge can save your life if someone is shooting at you."

Originally I wanted the lessons so I could feel artistic, feel confident. Knowing her reasons for teaching me made me feel a bit scared. Taking a while to learn art was fine, taking a while to learn to survive was not. I also wanted to impress her, to make sure she thought I was worth all this effort. I was taking up a lot of her time every night after all, I wanted her to feel like it was doing some good. I just nodded to her that I'd do this obstacle course, that I understood why it was necessary.

"How are your wings?" Demona asked and I concentrated on that part of my body. They still hurt, but not in a tired way.

"I might be bleeding." I finally spoke, it wasn't something I could check in the air, but it still hurt. "My wings scraped the buildings." I explained.

"Well, your large wingspan has its drawbacks." Demona spoke and I looked over at her to see that wicked smirk again. I blushed and looked away, unsure what the words meant, but I was starting to think it was sexual. I sure wasn't going to ask though.

I don't know what came over me, but my voice lowered a little and I gave her my own wicked smile. "Is mine really so much bigger than yours?"

Demona stared at me and smiled, before starting to angle up, so I rose up higher in the air with her. "It's not the size, its what you do with it." She chuckled and I knew at that moment that I'd been right, she had a naughty mind. Her voice was a bit more normal before I could think of a response. "Come on, let's land over there and I'll take a look at your wings."

We stopped on the top of one of the tallest buildings on the block. Once I landed I tried to pull one of my wings up and in front of me so that I could see. A blue hand stopped my wing before it came into my view. "I said I'd look." Demona told me and then she moved to look at the wing she now held in her hand. "You lost some skin, and yes you did loose a little blood, but this isn't bad. I was worried about bones when I saw you hit wall." I stayed quiet as she moved to look at my other wing, thinking it was sad that I just paid attention to me and I hit lines and she apparently watched us both and hit none.

Oh, but if she could teach me that I would be so happy, I thought as she looked at the other wing. "This is nothing you can't wait for the stone sleep to fix." Demona told me.

"Thanks." I spoke softly, liking her gentle touch as she checked me for injuries.

Demona moved to stand a little closer right in front of me and I was a little startled to see her reach up and touch my hair. Her talons caressed a bit of it that was resting in my face at the moment. "Is your hair obstructing your vision?" She asked and I froze as I found her caressing my hair again slowly and gently. She pushed the piece up and behind my ear. "Maybe we need to consider a new style."

"It wasn't in my way." I spoke finally, and then she moved to run her talon through my hair and I could feel her touching my head, petting me. It took me a moment to remember I was supposed to be defending my hairstyle, which admittedly came with hair in my face occasionally, but I liked it. My hair wasn't overly long, only reaching my shoulder blades, but I left it to be wild. I'd seen the lavender female of the other clan tied hers back, and I didn't want that.

My head bowed a little as she continued to play with my hair and I embarrassed myself a moment later when I realized that strange noise I was hearing was me purring.

"Okay, but if I decide it is in the way, we'll look at changing it." Demona spoke softly and the petting stopped shortly after I had cleared my throat and stopped the rumble of contentment.

"Okay." I whispered, missing the soft touches already.

"Let's head back." She spoke a little louder and I followed her off the side of the building as we called the nights training short. I wasn't sure why we were doing that, since I could still glide with scraped wingtips.

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Prompt: - To Cry section 8

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I woke with a roar and stretched. Demona wasn't pleased that I still curled up for my stone sleep, she said something about being a warrior, but I had only uncurled a little in the month I'd lived here. The smell of the cool air was crisp and I took a few steeps forward and stared over the edge of the large balcony she'd had me move to while the gardeners worked on the yard. I looked out into the yard and noticed that the leaves that had littered the grass were now gone.

The yard looked a bit barren in the Fall months and it was a bit sad to see it all die. I looked forward to seeing it in the spring, all blooming. I was starting to really believe that I'd get to see that too. I now owned a bookshelf and it had books. She'd purchased me furniture, and a computer of my own.

While looking out into the yard I noticed the truck was gone, which I'd never seen but Demona told me they had a truck. She stayed and worked from home while they were here, but that meant that she'd been going in to work later and gliding back well after sunset all week. It cut into our schedule.

I could have glided out to her for training, but she didn't want me out alone yet. I was better at gliding, but not good enough to dodge bullets, I knew that. Was it just luck I hadn't been killed before she found me? Demona said once I was good enough she'd let me out alone occasionally. I was fine waiting, being alone was over-rated, but maybe she needed more time to herself.

I slipped inside and made my way to the kitchen for a snack, before working on the DNA. I was getting really sick of all the studying, but it was starting to make sense now. It was a little fascinating how my genes were spliced together to make me a gargoyle, instead of something between the two. And Fox's genes were strange as well, there were notes about things that just didn't make sense to me or the Doctor, and connections that had been made spontaneously to the gargoyle strands that the Doctor couldn't explain. Being unexplained was a little unnerving, but to know that something about me wasn't planned was also nice. I don't know what about me, aside from why they wanted to kill me, wasn't planned. Was my hair different? Was it my skin color? I just didn't know and now I wanted to.

I ate and then I stared at the fridge and grabbed something else as well. Demona wanted me to gain weight and so I was supposed to eat more than I wanted of things that had protein. It was still novel that I could even eat what I wanted, but with all the exercise we got I wasn't gaining much. I didn't know why she wasn't wasting away. Maybe she ate all day non-stop just to keep up with the energy demands. Or maybe what I considered a harsh workout was nothing at all to her.

I worked on the Doctor's notes for hours and as time started to get really late I started to worry. All week she'd come back late, but always with some time for us to glide. I stared at the clock and realized that this was the latest yet, and she still wasn't back. I looked back at the notes, but I was finding it hard to concentrate now. Now I was wondering if the most graceful gargoyle in the world hadn't been able to dodge fast enough. I knew she was immortal, but captured or nearly killed were still very bad.

Finally I just turned off the computer and stood to stretch, but I found myself pacing in no time. The thoughts in my head were rather dark and I tried not to think them, but where was she? I'd seen her every day since I got here and soon I'd need to go out onto the balcony for the day and she still wasn't here? If she wasn't close to the house yet she'd be human before she made it.

I pulled a piece of paper out of the printer and wrote on it. My handwriting was a bit hard to read, so I worked hard on it so she could. "Please leave me a note if you won't be here when I wake up." I wrote big and filled the page. Now I just had to figure out where to put it. I even took the pen with me so if she didn't have much time she could even just sign the note for me.

Knowing she'd check on me I taped the note to the inside of the balcony door, the door to her bedroom, before I went outside to wait for the sun. I stared out at the sky, hoping to see her, but for the first time in a long time I turned to stone standing up fully, searching the skies.

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I roared out as I became conscious again. Before even glancing at the yard I turned to rush to the door, and my note looked untouched. My heart sank as I hurried into the house. "Demona!" I yelled out as I looked in the bathroom I'd found her in before, and then I looked in each of the upstairs rooms before calling her name out again as I went down the stairs. No one was answering.

In the kitchen nothing had been moved. My shoulders slumped as I looked for any evidence that she'd come home, but I was finding none. I moved to look at the answering machine that had blinking lights. Normally Demona checked her messages from her secretary during the day so I'd never seen it blink. I stared at the machine, wanting to make sure I understood how to make it work before I touched it. I even grabbed paper to take notes for her, but I really hoped that her voice was on it. I finally, hesitantly, pushed the largest button.

The hum of the recording filled the air. "Ms. Destine? I know you said you'd be coming in later this week, but it's almost time for your meeting with the research department and you aren't here. Should I reschedule?" A female voice asked and I just listened. A click showed the end of the message and then that same voice spoke again. "Ms. Destine, the research department has been waiting fifteen minutes. I've rescheduled them for next week. I hope that's okay with you. Are you coming in today or tomorrow? I have some reports you've been waiting for." The machine went silent and the blinking stopped. I sighed heavily and put my pencil down. I didn't like this, this didn't feel right.

I ate, and then I really tried to focus on my research. My concentration was so bad I finally gave up and learning new things and focused my little attention on writing down what I'd already learned. I paced, I watched the news for any hint of trouble, and I wandered outside searching the skies. By the time the night was almost over I was sick, my stomach was clenching and I was scared. The note was still on the door when I went outside to greet the day and I prayed it would have more writing on it when I woke up, or better yet that she'd be there waiting for me.

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I woke up and rushed to the note. My throat was tight as I saw no difference. Calling out to her I checked all the rooms again, a repeat of the night before. I finished in front of the answering machine, which was blinking again. "Please. Please, Please." I prayed before pushing the button again. "Ms. Destine, this is Candace." The voice from yesterday filled the kitchen. "Are you alright? I have the reports, and you did say you were going to be in every day this week, but it's nearly five and I haven't seen you yet." I felt sick, I hadn't eaten yet, but I felt sick. "I hope everything is okay." Candace spoke gently and I took a little comfort in it, but I hurt. My body started to shake and a small whimper escaped my lips as my vision became blurry with tears. She was my only clan and she was missing. A cough turned into a sob and my body curled up, as if that would stop the pain, but my whimpers and crying hurt my throat.

I missed her. I was scared for her, and I didn't know what to do now. I had to do something, but I didn't know what to do. Oh God, Demona please be okay, my mind cried. "Please, Please, Please." I prayed in a tearful whisper.


	4. Chapter 4

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Memorial Statue – section 9

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I was sure that if I found her she'd have complaints about what I was doing, but it was all I could think of. I'd left a new note in the mansion telling Demona what I was up to in case she came back. I glided high and didn't bother with the obstacles we'd normally dodge around as I made my way into the city. I wasn't supposed to go out alone, and I was very nervous about guns. It was a new fear, but then if Demona was captured by someone what chance would I have?

I still had no idea who'd done this. I just knew the list of potential suspects was far too large and the situations Demona might be in ranged from irritating to horrifying. I felt helpless and useless, and still I was going to try to help her.

I could see the castle in the sky in the distance and I knew I couldn't just glide up to it and expect a welcome. I had to be sneaky to get what I wanted. I had to come up with a plan. I sighed as I landed on a building and rested a moment as I considered this. I wasn't made for sneaky, I didn't feel overly clever. I took a deep breath and considered the issue. I never wanted to see this clan and I risked capture myself if I didn't do this right.

Fox was sneaky and clever, I thought as I took off again. If that were genetic it was in me somewhere. I just needed to bring it out.

I really would have rather dealt with the other clones in this, but they were prisoners underground and I couldn't bump into them and make it look like an accident.

I kept going past the castle and started to angle over to Central Park. That was another place I might find the clan. I noticed how the lights shown on the various memorial statues as I glided over the area, and the dark spots where drug deals and various other illegal things appeared to be going on. I sighed as I saw a man walking up to a woman who was jogging at night and turned to follow.

I know that Demona hated the humans and didn't want anything to do with them. I knew the clan thought it was our job as gargoyles to protect them. I fell somewhere in between myself. I didn't hate the humans overall, but I was very cautious about getting involved with them in any way. Humans were unpredictable, some of them were cruel, and they had a tendency to lash out at what they didn't understand.

All that being said I think I have more distrust of the male of any species than I do of humans overall, so seeing that large man following the female human concerned me. Sure I'd only met two males, and one female in my life, but seeing things in a distance I knew males were rather violent. The history I'd been programmed with alone showed how dangerous males were, and how they discounted women as a whole.

Maybe that's where they messed up my programming I thought for a moment. I followed the jogger and the man not dressed for jogging following her as I considered that. If I didn't think so little of males I still think I'd be a lesbian, because it was the female form I found attractive, but I couldn't be sure. Did it really matter if my orientation was genetic or a result of my programming? I sighed as I considered that I'd never have an answer as to why I was so rare, but before I could analyze those thoughts further I noticed the male human grab her. He was arrogant, because he did it in the lit part of the path.

I gave a roar and dove down, grabbing him by his hood in one hand and his arm with the other, yanking him off of her. I tossed him into the statue and heard the loud clunk before he fell to the ground. He didn't move and I stood there staring at his still body until I heard him groan. I turned to look at the jogging female and she had wide eyes as she stared at me.

"Call the cops?" I asked with a weak smile, but that only made her eyes widen further. I turned back to the man on the ground and then up at the military form of the statue. Didn't that just figure? Were there even statues of females in the park? I almost wanted to look and see, but the person I'd saved was out of shock enough to scream now. I turned and ran for the trees so I could hopefully climb them and get into the air.

I was in such a rush to get away from her screaming that I didn't pay enough attention to where I was going. I slammed into something and started to fall as the wind abandoned me. "Watch it!" An angry voice yelled out and I gasped as I struggled to turn and catch the air again.

"Jalapena," Another voice spoke up and I finally managed to turn enough to see three males, the three males I'd been avoiding for months. The red one looked like he was just gaining control of his gliding as well; he must have been what I hit. I really wished I was better at gliding, that was an embarrassing way to bump into them.

I also didn't like the shocked stares I was getting as they just looked at me and didn't speak.

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Prompt: Ring – section 10

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I turned to glance at the air in front of me and could see it was a good idea to gain altitude. I moved up and it took a few moments before I heard the males near me again.

"Jalapena." Was whispered again and I just frowned a little at that, wondering what it meant.

"Hi." I spoke as I aimed for the roof of a nearby building.

"You're a clone." The large blue male spoke and I grimaced at the words. He didn't say I was a gargoyle, just a clone. Not good, I didn't like that. "I'm Broadway." He smiled just a little.

It seemed like the smaller green gargoyle pushed his brother out of the way to get closer. "I'm Lexington." He smiled. I didn't bother telling these males that I already knew this.

"I'm Brooklyn." The red male I'd rammed into earlier spoke just as I caught the lift of air next to the building and rose up higher. I touched down on the building and noticed that even as graceless as I felt in the air, they thumped down to the roof much more roughly. I started to suspect that even though Demona made me feel like a clumsy oaf in the air, that I'd be able to fly rings around these three a whole lot sooner than I'd manage to keep up with Demona.

"I'm Lilith." I told them and watched the males stare at me.

"We're the local clan." Brooklyn spoke up. "We haven't seen you around." I did my best to not sigh. I'd made sure they didn't. Now I needed to figure out how to cover that.

"I don't spend a lot of time in the city." I lied. Demona and I were in the city three times a week at least. I felt like they'd see the lie on my face, but Lexington just nodded like that made sense and Brooklyn smiled at me.

"I know every part of this city." Brooklyn boasted and I found myself feeling uncomfortable.

"Well, that's nice, but I need to get back to work." I spoke, hoping that the plan I'd hatched suddenly would actually work. "It was nice meeting you." I smiled and started to move back to the edge of the building to take off, while hoping they'd try and stop me.

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa." Lexington spoke quickly and I slowed a little, but still kept walking toward the edge of the building. "What's the hurry? We've just met you."

"I have to find Demona." I told them, but I kept all concern for her out of my voice. Brooklyn's eyes started to glow, and I noticed his eyes glowed white. I'd never seen that before, Thailog's eyes had been like mine, red.

"Why are you looking for that bitch?" Brooklyn spoke, an angry hiss to his voice. My programming had let me in to the fact that this clan and Demona were enemies, but this was beyond what I'd expected. I thought there would be some disagreement, a fundamental distrust, but hatred was a bit extreme. I really had to be careful.

I turned to stare at him a moment, studied him until he seemed to fidget. "She is partly responsible for creating me, and I need answers." Actually Demona had known nothing about my creation, but I wasn't looking for Thailog. I hoped that they'd believe this. "I found something." I lied, I was looking for something in my DNA, but I hadn't yet found something. I hoped that there was nothing to find. "There is something in my DNA that doesn't belong there, and I want her to tell me what it is."

The glowing eyes seemed to change and I saw them all give me a sympathetic or just pitying look. I'd based my lie on my fears and they seemed to think it had a ring of truth, because while they seemed somewhat polite before, they now seemed to puff up as if to say they could protect me. "Is it bad?" Broadway asked. I responded with the most clinical and jargon filled explanation I could come up with, tossing out large words and phrases too fast for them to grasp even if they understood a word of it. I watched three males blink and nod, as if they understood it all and it was hard to not grin. They couldn't have understood it, because half of it was made up.

"Goliath needs to hear about this." Lexington spoke up after I'd stopped talking.

"I don't have time to give reports, I need to find her. There is no telling how long I have, or if it's fatal." I spoke up quickly and turned to the ledge again. Someone reached out to grab my arm and I turned to glare at him. Brooklyn slowly removed his hand and held his hands up as if to say he got it, don't touch. I hope he remembered that, because I don't like being grabbed.

"Maybe we can help. We know where she is, we just need to talk to Goliath and I'm sure he'll let you interrogate her. I'll even hold her down for you." Brooklyn spoke up and my eyes glowed red a moment. I just nodded, because I wanted to rip his face off and he wouldn't understand why. I'd found the kidnappers, and I had to play nice and figure out what to do now.

While I wasn't happy with them, I was happy to find the guilty party so quickly. I knew they were a possibility, and no matter what Demona's relationship with them was, I knew she was better off in their hands than Thailog's or the other suspects I'd had.

As I followed them to the castle I did my best to stay focused, because it dawned on me that this clan was stealing all of what was supposed to be MY clan. They took the other clones, and now they took my clan leader. It was like they ran a kidnapping ring, but they'd never see it that way. Regardless, it was me that they kept robbing.

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Prompt: Blood – section 11

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I found myself landing silently compared to the three males again and I turned to stare at the doorway into the castle I stood on. This place belonged to the husband of one of my 'parents'. I felt awkward standing there in the courtyard, and the shadow of someone coming outside didn't make me want to relax either.

"Did you guys forget something?" A feminine voice spoke and I found myself flanked by the males as the sole female of this clan stepped out from the shadows. I stared at her and could tell that her wide and surprised looking eyes were staring at me.

"We found her in Central Park." Broadway started to explain and he broke off from my side to move up to Angela. He took her hand and I found myself grimace a little at the clear couple vibe. 

"Hi, I'm Angela." The lavender female stepped forward and I managed to smile just a little. I liked her voice, and she was pretty. What I really liked was that she hadn't called me a clone right off. At least she had manners, the males of the clan needed to learn from her.

"I'm Lilith." I took her hand as she held it out. This was one of only three other female gargoyles in the city, and she was attractive and had a nice voice. I was actually surprised that I wasn't actually attracted to her, I could see all the reasons to be attracted, but I just didn't feel it. Angela didn't make me feel awkward and excited like Demona did. Considering her boyfriend was here that was fortunate.

"It's nice to meet you." Angela's voice was pitched to be soothing and welcoming and in spite of my reason for being here I did start to relax.

"Come on, you've got to meet Goliath." Lexington tried to grab my hand, but I snatched it away before realizing I was moving, it was an automatic response. I didn't like them touching me and his expression showed he was a bit surprised.

"He's with Elisa in the living room." Angela told us, but I didn't know where the living room was. I was going to have to follow someone. No one was moving yet, they were all content to just stare at me. I sighed heavily.

"I want to go get Fox." Brooklyn chuckled, and probably thought he was whispering to Broadway, but I heard him. My jaw clenched for just a moment. That was another uncomfortable meeting I would not be able to get out of.

Angela started to lead and I followed, with the pack following us both. I wondered if growling at them would make them go away, but then I needed the males. They thought they were my heroes, and I could use their leverage to get to Demona.

As I followed Angela I started to study her, taking in her brow ridge and mentally comparing it to my own. I glanced at her wings, but they were like Demona's, not mine. I didn't really see much in common, other than generic gargoyle traits. In a way she was my sister, we shared a blood link, but she took after her mother more than her father I determined. The coloring was all Goliath, and her hair was like his. My coloring was a bit more like Thailog's, and it was a byproduct of the cloning process. Most likely any clone made from the lavender male would come out some shade of gray.

As I stepped into a larger room I growled softly for a moment as I stared at the large male. I received a few odd looks, "Sorry, he looks like Thailog." I muttered, embarrassed at my mistake.

"What's going on?" Goliath spoke and I felt any soothing Angela had managed to give me fade. He even sounded like Thailog. I really hated Thailog. Goliath stared at me, and the soft gasp lower finally helped me tear my eyes off of him to look at the human standing next to him.

They were closer suddenly, and I had the human's name from my programming. That was Detective Maza, Goliath's human mate, or mate-to-be. I looked at her again and then at Goliath and they were still moving, but no one seemed to realize that I'd faded out on them.

"A clone." Goliath spoke and I felt like growling at him again. Clearly manners were a female thing, because I've yet to meet a male gargoyle that didn't offend me.

My gendered impression of manners was quickly countered by an old male gargoyle with a beard who I hadn't even noticed was in the room. "Hey lass, I'm Hudson, and that there beast is Bronx." I turned to see him standing next to the chair facing a television.

"I'm Elisa, and this big guy is Goliath." The human spoke up and smiled at me, but she seemed a little uncomfortable with me. I glanced at Goliath, but much preferred to talk with her. He gave me the creeps, looking like that bastard. I knew it wasn't fair, and that of all people I should understand. I was being judged just as much as him and I was aware of it. People saw my face and compared me to Fox.

Demona hadn't done that long, just a few moments. She hadn't continued to stare at me like Goliath was doing. I wasn't looking forward to him finding out who other than Fox donated blood for me.

"I'm Lilith." I spoke to Elisa, and then glanced over at Hudson to include him in the introduction. If I had to introduce myself one more time I'd look into getting a nametag.

"Lilith needs help." Lexington spoke up. "Her DNAY," and that's how he said it, like it was a word and not an acronym. "Is messed up and she needs to talk to Demona."

Detective Maza looked puzzled for just a moment, but then she appeared to decipher Lexington's butchering of my reasoning. The others continued to look lost. I had to speak up. "I've been researching my genetics and I've found odd things that I think she can explain." I spoke simply and that seemed to clear it up for them.

"How could she? As far as I know Demona wasn't involved in creating the clones." Hudson spoke and I found myself sorely disappointed. I wanted them to all be idiots. "She just helped get the blood."

I felt a bit shaky, seeing things possibly falling apart. "I was the prototype. I was made first." I could have lied too, but I just said that and hoped they'd think Demona had been a part of my creation.

"Why didn't we see you before?" Goliath spoke and I could only look at his face a moment, before I focused on comparisons again. His voice, his body were all Thailog. The way he spoke was different though and he stood a little differently too.

"I managed to escape quickly." I spoke up quietly and glanced around the room. "I've never actually met the members of my clan." I told them, but then I thought that if these people didn't shove my clan underground I might have met them by now.

"She's like Delilah, she looks like a human but she's a gargoyle." Elisa spoke and then turned to me. "They practiced splicing the DNA together with you didn't they? You're the first made from two people."

Again I wished for idiots, but that wasn't what I got. Still, I knew more about science than most people, so maybe if they started to really ask questions I'd still be okay. "It was a very complicated process." I knew that from the notes.

"Clearly you have some Fox in you." Elisa spoke up and then just stopped. I knew the question was implied, and it would make me look like a jerk to force her to say it, so even though I didn't want to answer I was going to have to. I needed these people right now.

"They still had some blood left over from making Thailog." I told them and glanced at Goliath again. His eyes widened. "I'm a clone of Goliath and Fox Xanatos." I spelled it out for anyone not paying attention.


	5. Chapter 5

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Wardrobe Malfunction – section 12

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I felt awkward and impatient as I sat in the kitchen. I wanted to storm the dungeon in this old castle and free my clan leader, but I wasn't even sure Demona was being kept here and I wasn't armed. I was programmed with the ability to fight, but I didn't think I could take down an entire clan and a human cop.

Broadway gave me a plate of food and smiled. I sighed as I put it down in front of me and stared at it. It reminded me of the first meal Demona gave me, even though it wasn't the same thing. Her meal came with promises and caring. His meal was just a polite gesture. I missed her.

"Hey guys." A voice spoke and I froze, my eyes widening. The voice sounded familiar. I turned to see the redhead stopped in the doorway and staring at me. I didn't blink as I stared back. That blue tattoo really made her, my, our, face look different. It was confusing to see what I would be as a human standing in front of me, holding a baby. My eyes dropped to the baby in her arms and I felt a small wave of something, I wasn't sure if it was irritation or jealousy. She was able to grow a clan, and her baby looked happy and strong. I wasn't sure if I was upset with her, and her ability to not be alone, or with him, having a childhood denied me. "Okay, I think I would have remembered you if you were a part of this clan." Fox spoke up finally and I looked back up at her.

"I'm Lilith." I told her and I promised myself that I'd look into that damned nametag, because I'd never said my own name so much in my short life. For just a moment I felt the evil urge to call her momma and see if she freaked out, but I easily suppressed it. My eyes moved down to stare at the baby again. He shared her DNA as well. I felt a confused feeling of clan for a moment as I stared at them, but I wasn't their clan. They didn't even have clans. I looked back into her face and I was glad she had that tattoo, it made her look different and I was growing more uncomfortable as time went on. It didn't help that I knew the gargoyles were watching us, being entertained by this, and not understanding. This was my DNA donor, I attributed more of myself to her than to Goliath, and she stared at me like I was the most bizarre thing she'd ever seen.

"Well, I knew he had daddy issues with Goliath, but I didn't know it extended to David." Fox spoke as she came closer. I moved the bar seat toward her to face her as she stared. "Thailog really outdid himself this time." I was a little impressed that she'd guessed correctly so easily, and a little proud of her. Still my cover story meant I couldn't confirm her guess for her. I just didn't say anything then, and the baby helped, because he was now staring at me.

The baby started to tug on Fox's dress, and I realized that the woman was dressed for going out. Her red dress looked rather nice, but I blushed as the baby got a good tug in and Fox turned quickly to pull the dress back. I looked away and noticed that most people were watching me and didn't seem to notice that Fox had become a flasher, or that she could move really fast to cover that up.

"Whoops, looks like someone is hungry." Fox muttered as if this were normal. I glanced around to see that Elisa had a small blush on her cheeks as well, so I wasn't alone in witnessing the wardrobe malfunction.

That baby actually gurgled at me. I stared at him and stood up, taking a step closer to look into his little face. He was staring at me too. "What's your hatchlings name?" I spoke to her and I smiled just a little at her, trying to change the subject in my mind, which was still stuck on the flashing.

Granted I'd never seen a baby, but from what I'd been programmed with I was under the impression that the baby shouldn't notice a whole lot around him yet, but he stared at me. I know I looked a bit like his mom, but I didn't think he'd notice. I didn't want to just ask if he had that weird thing in his DNA that Fox did, whatever it was the Doctor couldn't identify, but I searched for anything in him that I could point at in myself. Fox's DNA was a puzzle and I was curious.

"Alexander." She spoke up and I felt an urge to reach out to him, but I stopped and turned my attention to her. She was looking over my shoulder at the others.

"I know, it's strange." Elisa spoke up, almost like the voice of experience. "Lilith is a clone of you and Goliath." The detective explained and I noticed a red eyebrow raise, but Fox was taking this rather well. She responded more like Demona, I thought, sure there was a moment of study, but none of the stunned disbelief, and I suspected some disgust, that the gargoyles gave me.

"Well, and I thought I only had a son. You'd think a mother would know these things." Fox spoke slowly, with a hint of teasing. I did notice Elisa grimace at that. I remembered Delilah and what Demona told me about that clone. Apparently Elisa didn't accept Delilah as easily and Fox is seeming to accept me.

I turned a little and could see Goliath was uncomfortable as well. I was the second clone made from him, you'd think he was used to it by now. I turned back to Fox, preferring to talk to her. "Surprise, it's a girl." I spoke quietly with a hint of a smile.

Fox grinned just a little at me and then readjusted her hold on Alexander. "So Lilith, what brings you here? I'm not going to breast feed you too." I looked away and blushed a painful red at the teasing.

My eyes started to glow when Lexington started to explain for me instead of giving me a moment to collect myself again. My DNA donor had asked me, wanted to talk to me, and he was taking over. "She noticed some problem with her DNAY" He butchered the word again.

"D.N.A." I repeated firmly and then gave him a glare. "I believe my donor asked me." I felt like growling and he looked surprised and went quiet. I turned to look at her and noticed the studying, searching look. I blushed under it.

"She didn't yell at me when I told Goliath." Lexington muttered to whoever was next to him and I sighed.

"She's a momma's girl." Fox spoke lightly with a teasing smile and I felt like I'd like to turn invisible and slip out of the room. Knowing I'd have to explain why I was there yet again didn't make me want to stay and repeat myself either. Maybe I should have just let Lexington butcher the explanation. It wasn't the real story anyhow. Doing my best to not acknowledge the Momma's girl comment I gave Fox my explanation for being there.

I wasn't a Momma's girl, I thought even as I spoke. I just preferred the donor that didn't look like the bastard that wanted to use me as a sex toy. She also hadn't stolen my clan from me. And I'll admit to a lot of curiosity about her odd genetics that had the Doctor puzzled.

Fox also wasn't calling me a clone every chance she got.

A little later no one was taking me to Demona. I listened to their talk about needing to arrange it and realized that Demona wasn't in this castle. They were keeping her somewhere else, and I suspected I knew where. They'd most likely buried her underground like they did with the rest of my clan. Out of sight, out of mind. Bastards.

"I'm going to go feed this little monster before he ends up breaking my dress." Fox spoke up and I was disappointed to see her go. Still that baby had been rather fidgety and tugging at the dress again. "It was nice meeting you Lilith." Fox addressed me before she left.

I wasn't sure what to do now. I was stuck waiting another day to see Demona. I glanced around at the size of this clan and the human member of it, wondering how I could make my own exit for now.

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Prompt: sibling - section 13

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I moved to the window and stared out at the city in silence, ignoring the loudness that was the trio of males. I was grateful that Demona's home was quieter, more relaxed, now that I saw this place.

I hadn't figured out how to leave just yet. Sure I could just walk out and glide off, but I needed to get Demona and I felt useless just waiting, but I knew I had to wait.

"Are you doing okay?" A gentle feminine voice spoke up and I looked to my side and saw Angela watching me.

"It feels weird being here." I told her and then glanced out at the city again. "It's loud." I told her while listening to the males argue.

"At least they aren't trying to impress you. I was ready to beat them bloody when I met them." I watched Angela glance at the males.

"So should I be grateful they're disgusted by what I am or upset that I'm not worthy of the irritation?" I spoke a little bitterly and Angela's eyes moved back to me rather quickly. I turned back to the city lights.

"I think they'll get used to it and then you'll miss this quiet time." Angela moved just a little closer. I could feel her near my wings and pulled them tighter to my body.

"I should go home." I sighed, thinking it was time to make my exit, but I felt like I was abandoning Demona if I did it. I turned to her and she looked surprised. "I can come back tomorrow. I still need to talk to her."

"You're leaving?" Angela asked and there was a hint of disbelief. "You could stay."

My voice got quieter and I leaned a little closer to her. "Goliath, he looks like Thailog, sounds like Thailog. I can't," I sighed. "Once Thailog had me alone it was clear what he wanted me for. I shared his blood and he wanted me to share his bed. I can't stand to hear your father speak, and every time I catch him out of the corner of my eye I tense up." I admitted it quietly and I could see her argument in her eyes. "I'd just feel better at home."

"He isn't like that." Angela still spoke up.

"Maybe he isn't, I hope it wasn't something in Thailog's genetics that made him evil, because I share that. You share that too." I added the last bit as I considered this. "But evil or not, I'm just not comfortable."

"Sister, don't go." Angela put her hand on my shoulder. "Not yet at least. There is still a lot of night left, and I want to get to know you." I was a bit stunned to be called sister. Sure, Fox teased about being my mom, but it was teasing. Angela said the word sister like she meant it. That word did something to me I couldn't ignore and I felt torn between hope and anger. Did she consider Delilah a sister? Why was I given this privilege and not Delilah, because if Delilah was a 'sister' then she'd be up here in the clouds with us wouldn't she? What was being a 'sister' worth? I felt angry, betrayed by the word that I could see was worthless, because if a clone was worthy of that type of title they'd be here with this clan.

I also felt a small spark of hope that it wasn't a lie, and that even more clan was out there for me, but that hope died quickly. My clan was Demona and just as she couldn't return to this clan, I couldn't join it. Joining this clan for Angela, and the nearness of Fox wasn't a good trade, because it came with that Thailog shaped male that stared at me and the males that would, if Angela was right, start to annoy me soon.

Regardless of my mixed up feelings, I needed their trust so I could betray it. I sighed heavily and rested my hand on the windowsill as I stared out at the city. "I didn't expect to gain a sister tonight." I muttered, and it was the truth. This would have thrilled me in other circumstances, but it just made me sad now, sad and tired.

"Don't forget that adorable baby brother too." Angela sounded amused.

"My baby brother is older than I am." I sighed and turned to look at the room and the others again. "Want to glide?" I asked.

"Sure, I'm sure we could even get the guys…" Angela started to sound a little more upbeat and I turned to stare at her.

"To stay away?" I finished her sentence with a hopeful look. "Just us girls tonight?" I was going to take Angela on a race, and try and burn some of my frustration away. Jabbering males wouldn't help me calm down. Angela looked torn for a moment, but then she smiled and I knew she wanted some girl time too.

"Just let me tell Father what we're doing." She spoke and I cringed, wondering if she was also calling him my father, because it just seemed sick to me. I don't think I'll ever get over what Thailog was doing in creating me, or the fact that I was actually his sister and he didn't tell me because he wanted to make me his consort. I just thank god that I wasn't attracted to him, because if I had been I was sure I'd be physically ill every time I thought of him now.

I was a lone clone, but I had a disturbingly large family in my genetic material. I watched as my newly declared sister spoke quietly with Goliath, and then I moved my eyes to the Detective listening in. I wished I could get that cop to arrest the large gargoyle next to her for kidnapping, but it really wasn't very likely.

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Prompt: - Mind - section 14

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Once out I spent a fun hour playing tag with Angela, and it was easy to tell her I'd see her tomorrow and leave without a huge fuss. Sure she made some fuss, but unless she was willing to fight me for it she couldn't make me stay in that castle for the day.

My trip home was quiet and I felt weary inside and out, but still I glided as fast as I could for home. Tomorrow I'd see Demona, and I'd have to figure out how to save her. I had only been in one fight and that was against humans, but chances were that would change soon. Sure Angela wanted me to stay much longer, but I needed what was left of this night to make plans.

I landed in our backyard and walked up to the backdoor. I now knew the security code and I used it. "Demona?" I yelled out, just in case she hadn't needed me to escape. The silence was disappointing.

As my computer was booting up and started a list of things I needed to look up, hoping that they'd inspire more hidden programming in my mind to become conscious. I needed any edge I might have. It was odd and I'd never actively sought out what all I might know, but now I was hoping I was a very well rounded clone, a clone meant for planning and fighting. With my medical and science knowledge it was possible this other part wasn't fully developed, but I had hope. My mind was a mystery to me.

I flipped through web pages as fast as I could, seeking something to release more of my programming to me. I felt the time loss as I stared at the guns and ammo page and barely took the time to check my mind to see I knew how to use weapons like that, before I continued my search. I stared at maps of the city and the tunnels and found a smaller bit of information hidden in me. I flipped through information on any random thing I saw, followed links, and only read a little of everything to see if it sparked in me. Usually nothing happened, but still those last three hours of night were very educational for the things I did learn. I wasn't programmed with an innate ability to plan rescues, but I wasn't just a Doctor's assistant. Sadly what fighting ability I had uncovered seemed to be all I had.

I found in my mind proof that I was meant to be the scientific brains behind Thailog's business sense and strategic evil. I had information on engineering, electronics, chemistry, physics, and other useful aspects that meant I really knew how to pull apart and repair a laser gun better than I knew how to use it. Didn't that just figure, when I need to be James Bond, I find out I'm Q? I was supposed to be behind the scenes, but with such a small clan I couldn't fulfill that role. I had to be in the thick of it.

I just managed to get onto the patio as the sun rose and I sighed just as I turned to stone.


	6. Chapter 6

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Catfight: section 15

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I felt like my heart was going to hammer out of my chest I was so nervous. A glide into the city never filled me with so much dread, but I just took a deep breath and started to gain altitude as I approached the Eyrie building and that castle that looked so ridiculous on top of a skyscraper.

As I landed in the courtyard I noticed that Fox was there alongside a man I'd seen a picture of. The gargoyles were coming outside to greet me as well and I felt almost trapped, surrounded, even as I tried to smile as if I was happy to be there. "Hello, I'm David Xanatos. I just had to meet you." The human male spoke and I saw him studying me with a small smirk to his lips. I wasn't finding myself too happy to meet him. "I was disappointed to miss your visit last night."

"Nice to meet you." I nodded, making no effort to shake hands. I turned my eyes to Fox and noticed Alexander wasn't with her this time. Fox was dressed more casually tonight. "Momma." I teased her just a little and nodded toward her with a smirk of my own. I like that she doesn't pale or seem upset, she just nods back with a small grin.

"Baby." Fox replies. I can see Goliath is fidgeting and looking a little ill at our small game. He didn't ever have to worry I'd play this with him, I thought with a little disgust.

"How have you been surviving all this time?" David spoke and I felt like cringing. I saw the clan all seem to perk up a little as if interested in the answer.

"I managed." I muttered, but it was clear that wasn't enough to keep the trust. "I lived out of trash cans for the most part, but I've found someone who lets me stay with her now and she feeds me." I admitted and saw a few disgusted and pitying looks. I turned to talk to Fox, who looked concerned. I like that she seemed concerned. "It's much better now. I'm safe during the day too."

"Who do you stay with?" Goliath spoke and I did my best to not grimace at the sound of his voice. It really was unfortunate for him that he seemed so like Thailog.

"A friend." I turned to look at him, I sort of had to. It was the polite thing to do. "Look," I spoke more softly, noticing Angela next to him and I found it easier to talk in her direction then, I focused on her out of the corner of my eye rather than Goliath's uncomfortable expression. "I've had it a little rough and I'm not going to share my safe place with anyone, not yet. I want it to stay my safe place. I don't have anywhere else."

"If you ever need another safe place," Fox started to speak and I took a step closer to her. She smiled at me and I ignored how Goliath fidgeted so obviously at her words. "I know I didn't create you, but I feel partly responsible."

"You're a good donor." I spoke softly, "I don't think anyone else would care." I knew all the gargoyles and that human detective that wasn't here tonight didn't feel that way or their clones wouldn't be underground. "But I'm fine." I told her gently, I felt no urge to burn my bridge with her. It was a shame that what I was here to do would probably burn that bridge anyhow, even though I didn't want to.

"Where we're going is a safe place too." Goliath spoke. "The other clones live in the Labyrinth, and that's where we have Demona imprisoned." I heard he was trying to make it sound like an offer, but it took all I had to not growl at him. Gargoyles didn't belong underground, I wanted to scream it, but I just clenched my jaw and did my best to not respond.

My eyes glowed red, but I suspect they thought it was Demona's name that caused that. I didn't correct that idea.

I didn't like how David stared at me, he seemed intrigued and I didn't think that was a good thing. "Can we go?" I finally asked anyone who was listening. I wasn't here for a visit, I had a mission.

"I could have our doctors look at your genetics as well." David offered. "I'm not sure Demona will be much help for you." I froze for a moment, unsure how to deny this offer and not look suspicious.

When I didn't offer to hand over my blood right away it was Fox that spoke. "Not everyone is comfortable handing over their genetic material David. Look what happened to mine." There was a hint of a snap in her voice and I looked at her quickly. "Not that you aren't lovely Lilith, but I really should have known if I was going to have another child." Her voice was soft enough that I didn't feel rejected. I just nodded. Apparently Fox knew more about how her DNA was taken than most of the donors, and it backfired on her.

"A clone of a clone would be weakened, the genetic material would break down and make it prone to all sorts of nasty deaths." I informed them, because I knew this, but it really wasn't all that important. It was just something to say. I remembered my cover story, but apparently no one else did, because I was still here and not in front of Demona. "Genetic manipulation is dangerous, there are so many mistakes that could be made, but what I'm afraid of is that the anomalies I've found in my own genetics aren't an accident." I took a shaky breath. "I'm afraid that what I don't know about genetics is what will kill me. I have abnormalties."

"Well, there may be another reason for that." Fox spoke a little slower. "My own genetics are rather unique."

"I've noticed." I told her, and I wanted to ask about it, but not here with everyone. "And I've got some of those unique genetics too, even though the Doctor was careful about what I inherited from you, he apparently couldn't sift it all out." I stared at her a moment and she looked a little tired suddenly, so that reinforced the idea of not asking now. "So the Labyrinth is where?" I glanced around to the clan, but my eyes returned to stare into Fox's, hoping she saw that I did want to ask her more, but later. Her nod made me feel like she understood and she'd give me my answers. I really lucked out with this donor, I could have had someone like that detective, and I doubt that one would give me nearly as much as Fox is giving me. I gave Fox a small smile before turning to follow the clan into the air.

I did my best to remember every landmark, ever turn, so that I could find this place myself if I needed to, but once we landed on the ground I noticed the Detective with a flashlight in her hand near a large drain pipe. It sickened me to see this concrete proof we were going underground. I landed near Elisa along with the others. Hudson put Bronx down so that he could walk from here and Bronx moved up to rub up against Elisa gently.

"My brother is a mutate." Elisa told me. "He's in charge of the mutates and the clones, and also helps out the homeless of the city." The word Mutate filled my mind and I almost stumbled a little with the program releasing more than just what a mutate was, I had the science behind some of what was done to these people. Their genetics were more complicated than mine, I knew that without even seeing any of it.

We started to follow Elisa into the darkness and I began to worry that I'd discover a previously unknown tendency toward claustrophobia. While I felt uncomfortable with the small tunnel that would make it nearly impossible to glide at all, I was still able to walk and function, but I didn't like the feeling the place gave me. It took some self control to not turn and yell at Goliath about where he'd put the others. It made me sick, I actually felt ill, as I considered what my life might have been if I'd been with the other clones. I loved being in the air, and this place would kill me slowly. I couldn't even see the sky from here. I felt a nervousness and fear that somehow I'd be stuck here, that I was being led here and I'd be left. It made me work even harder to try and remember the turns we took in the underground maze.

I noticed the light as we turned another corner, but it was just reflecting off of a wall. I took a deep breath and continued to follow quietly. Sure some others tried to talk to me, but I was too busy making sure I could find my way out to respond. They'd stopped talking at me after a few turns.

I stared around with wide eyes at the large well lit area we'd walked into once we turned the corner. I could see cat like gargoyles, that I knew weren't really gargoyles. The mutates, just three of them were busy, but the dark one looked up at us. "Elisa." He spoke and then his eyes moved to look at me. I noticed his eyes widen a little, and then narrow, before he just took a step closer. "Yet more of Dr. Severius' work I see."

"I actually think of myself as a person, but you can think of yourself as a creation if you like." I growled out before I could stop myself. I was so tired of being considered less then others by these people, but I cringed inside once I'd spoken. It would have been smarter to just take it.

The dark male paused and stared at me a moment, before his shoulders seemed to relax. "Fair enough, I actually think of myself as Talon." It seemed like his attitude changed, and I allowed my own body to relax even if I still wasn't happy.

"I'm Lilith." I said it for what felt like the millionth time.

"You should meet the other clones." Talon smiled just a little. He turned to talk louder at the other mutates. "Claw, could you go get the clones?"

"Oh hey, while we're here I should check out the phone lines." Lexington spoke up. I was starting to turn to see them when another voice spoke.

"I'll go with you." Broadway spoke up and I just tilted my head and watched those two start off in a direction that apparently held what they were after.

"I should really talk to you about how you're managing to deal with holding Demona." Goliath addressed Talon and I turned my eyes to look at Elisa. I definitely had the feeling that gargoyles were fleeing the area because the clones would be coming in. Elisa seemed to look around at the others, and I noticed that Brooklyn was talking with Maggie and Bronx and Hudson were heading off in yet another direction.

"I guess I really am the lucky one." I spoke quietly, thinking I was talking to myself, but Elisa looked at me. I took a deep breath. "My donor actually can stand to be near me. This is sad, really sad, that gargoyles run away like this so they don't have to talk to a clone." Elisa's jaw tensed and I could feel she was mad, but she didn't say anything. I felt like hurting someone for this, but I just did my best to file it under another reason why my clan leader was better than anyone in this clan. "Fox really is special." I spoke again, but it was my own not so hidden barb. "She never ran away."

"Maybe they thought you'd like to meet your clan in private." Elisa spoke up, in a poor defense. I didn't believe that, but it was a nice idea. Somehow I don't think Elisa believed it either, because I thought I saw her glare at Goliath's back when I started to look away from her. She at least stuck around. I watched Maggie lead Brooklyn away.

I heard the footsteps and turned to stare in that direction. I felt nervous about meeting my clan. I knew little about them, and they probably never knew I existed. I was here for Demona, but I felt like I just needed to do this for me too. I felt like these were my clan, even though I never met them, I felt connected to people I'd never met.

Talon started to move closer to me and I found myself wringing my hands as I watched the shadow on the wall grow. I stared with wide eyes as a few large males stepped into the room. I could see who they were clones of, but they were changed. I know I wasn't a direct clone, that I'd been altered a lot, but I had they would be like their donors but just a different color. Two more males stepped into the room, and then I saw the white hair of the only other female clone. Like me, she really took after her human donor.

All the gargoyles were looking at me and I smiled just a little, feeling awkward and excited. Talon turned to the clones and spoke, "This here is Hollywood," He pointed to what had to be Broadway's clone, but that male was a lot more muscular. "And that's Brentwood." The smaller male waved just a little, but he looked uncertain. Apparently Claw didn't tell them why they were coming here and I was getting a lot of stares. There was something just off about how the males looked at me, and I couldn't quite identify it, but it bothered me. "That big guy is Burbank, and the one standing next to him is Malibu." Malibu nodded at me. "And that is Delilah." He finally introduced the only gargoyle that I'd heard anything about. I smiled at her, but she frowned thoughtfully back.

Talon smiled at the others and turned to me for a moment. "Guys, this is Lilith."

"Hello Lilith." The males spoke almost all at once, and the words were a little stilted. I froze for a moment, my heart sinking, and I stared into various eyes again. That bastard! My fists clenched as I suddenly realized why it all felt wrong.

The gentle touch on my wing had me looking to my left and Elisa gave me a concerned look for a moment, but then tilted her head to the clones. I turned to look at them. "Hello." I spoke a little hesitantly, praying I was wrong.

"You're pretty." Brentwood told me and I did my best to not show my anger at Thailog's cruel joke as I smiled at him. He was incomplete, his programming less than it should be, and I ached to know it was partly my fault. If I hadn't been smart enough to not want to stick around maybe Thailog wouldn't have hurt the males like this, but then again maybe he would have anyhow. I looked over at Delilah and searched her eyes for that slowness, but she seemed to be sharper than the others. "Well, Delilah is pretty too." I spoke slower, and wondered at why I did that. Would speaking slower make it easier for the cloned males? I gave Delilah a small smile, hoping to draw her out and see if she was spared the hobbling to their mental abilities the males suffered from.

Her expression was a shock and I just stared as she seemed to go blank, no expression at all, but then it started to scare me. Delilah growled and her eyes started to glow as she stared at me. I could tell she had just accessed some of her programming, but I'd never seen anyone else do that.

I sucked in a breath in shock as I saw her leap at me talons out. "What?" Was all I got out before I felt the ground as I slammed into it.

"Unnatural freak, you won't convert me." Delilah hissed at me and her hand was around my throat. I clawed up at her and managed to get the arm, drawing blood as I struggled stop her from cutting off my air. I kicked up and when there was a moment to move I started to try and roll away. "Perverted. Females need males, unnatural freak, I'm not like you and I won't let you try and convert me." Delilah hissed at me and I could hear some yelling, but I was too busy avoiding a kick to my face. I twisted my body and whipped my tail out, knocking her down, but she'd managed to kick me in the chest. I was grateful for the break as she struggled to stand up and I rolled further away and stood up, staring at her.

What had Thailog done to her? Why? He thought I was dead, so why did she look like she'd been programmed to beat the shit out of me?

"Delilah!" A male yelled, but I just braced myself for a real battle. I'd let her get the upper hand in my shock but I could see she was about to lung at me again. I brought up my talons and my tail lashed behind me violently as I crouched down a little.

The bright light and her scream and then her falling was a surprise. "Why?" I turned to yell at Talon, angry he'd hurt her, upset that I hadn't, and just about ready to cry. This was my clan, and apparently it wasn't. I turned to stare at the males, and they were stunned looking. I looked at Delilah, stared at her, as she lay unconscious. "He programmed her to hate me." I whispered as I felt a hand move to rest on my wing. I turned a little to see Delilah's face on a human and I stared at her. "I cared about her, she was my clan." I whispered. "She was my replacement." I admitted and looked away. My voice was bitter. "I guess he wanted to be sure that Delilah wouldn't turn out gay too." She tried to gay bash me, because I said she was pretty. I figure that out, that was the trigger. I didn't think she was too pretty anymore.

I turned and walked toward the tunnel we'd come into this place in, just so I could wipe at my tears. I felt the sting of some cuts and bruises. My body was shaky, and I wrapped my arms around myself. It hurt. It hurt a hell of a lot, but physically I wasn't too damaged. I'd stopped her from clawing me.

"I'm so sorry about that." Talon spoke up and I had to turn and look at him. I wiped at my face to cover my tears before I turned. Talon turned to Malibu, who looked stunned. "Take her back to the classroom and put her on the bunk."

"She just attacked Lilith for no reason." Goliath was staring at Delilah.

"Yes, a catfight." Brentwood muttered and I turned to glare at him. That was so sexist, besides the fact that the Mutates were more catlike than I was.

"Shut up." I snapped at the male clone and turned to stare at Delilah, who was now hanging unconscious from Malibu's arms. I spoke so the other clones could hear me. "She attacks me again and I'll fight back." I had been too stunned to do well, but I wasn't going to let her hurt me again. "Tell her that I have better taste than to want her." I wanted to lash out, to hurt her, and the urge was just growing, but insults relayed by males unlikely to remember how to say them right wasn't going to work. Wasn't her fault, I tried to tell myself, but I really wanted to kick her while she was down like she'd done to me.

I'd been worried about her, about them all really, but mostly about her and this was what I got? I spoke one more parting shot. "She's nothing but a puppet if she lets her programming control her like that. Does she spread her legs on all male commands or just her 'Masters'?" I growled and turned away, upset with myself as well. The fight was over, but I felt like I still needed to fight.

"Lilith, are you okay?" Elisa spoke gently and I grimaced and looked at her.

"Where is Demona?" I just wanted to get this over with and get out. I came here for a reason, and that was all that mattered now.


	7. Chapter 7

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Kakistocracy (Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens.) – section 16

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I noticed that the Detective was quiet as we walked down yet another tunnel, but I didn't look back at her or Goliath, I just stared ahead at Talon. Talon was the one in charge of keeping my clan leader locked up, but Goliath was the one responsible for capturing her. I was sandwiched between people who thought nothing of breaking the law when it suited them, and I couldn't say anything. One thing I did know, that cop was not doing her job.

"I was wondering if I should press charges against Delilah." I muttered loud enough for all to hear. "Hate crimes are crimes too." My voice was bitter.

"So you really are gay?" Goliath spoke up and I turned to glare at him.

"Even if I weren't, I hear attacking someone because you think they are gay is just as illegal." I turned my eyes to the cop, who looked a little pained at my line of discussion. "Or we could just lock her up next to Demona?" I offered it like I genuinely thought it was a good idea.

"I know what she did was unjustified, but you must understand what Thailog did to them." Goliath started with the excuses and I just turned to continue walking with Talon, which forced him to turn and start walking too.

"I know far better than you what was done to us." I spoke wearily as I followed. I didn't bother looking at who I was talking to. "The Programming is insidious, and more of it appears at the slightest trigger. I know it wasn't her fault, but who is going to explain to her that I'm not evil just because I didn't want to sleep with Thailog?"

"I will." Talon responded and I looked up from watching my feet to see him glancing back at me. "This type of thing won't be tolerated here. Many of our homeless are gay and now that she's revealed this ugly side of her programming I can't trust her around them."

I really didn't know what to say to that honest answer to my own frustrated anger. He actually said the right thing. I sighed heavily and followed him into another large room. I found the sound of an irritating male voice grating, and we were moving toward it.

"I swear Fang, if you don't shut up for at least ten minutes I will find a way to get out of here, but I'll stay long enough to kill you before I leave." Demona's voice was cold and I felt like my heart was clamped at this proof I'd found her. I stopped walking for a moment and the only reason I even noticed it was that Goliath touched me and I turned to see a concerned look on his face. That made me walk faster to get away from him.

The clear wall between me and the male apparently known as Fang was a very good thing. I noticed his hungry look and I felt dirty just having his eyes on me. "Oh look, more eye candy." He spoke and Talon seemed to glare at him, but he was walking past that cell so I followed.

Fang was continuing to talk, but I blocked it out as I found myself standing in front of Demona's cell. She looked up from some magazine she was looking at and I noticed her eyes widen. "Hello."

"Lilith." Demona spoke quickly and then glanced at Talon and her eyes narrowed as she looked at Goliath.

My eyes were glancing at the strange cage, before I stared into her eyes again. Now that I was here, with an unwanted audience, I wasn't sure what to say so she'd understand why I was here.

"I thought you'd like a visitor." Talon spoke, but it wasn't too friendly as he talked to Demona. "Lilith came to ask you questions about the cloning process and what you and Thailog did to the clones DNA. I suggest you answer all her questions." That last line seemed like a threat.

I glanced over at Goliath, who stared into the cell sadly and shook his head. "Hello Demona."

Demona's eyes moved from me to him and I could see her school her face to not show any shock. "Goliath, you liking the role of judge and jury?"

"We've had this discussion before." He spoke firmly and I felt my eye twitch in anger.

"Look, you guys can talk later can't you? I have a time limit on my grievance you know." I hinted to my death as I glared at the large male gargoyle. He looked a little guilty and then nodded at me. "You can just yell if you need help." He told me and then shared a look with Elisa.

It took a moment, before just the annoying voice of Fang filled the room and I worried about him overhearing us. I moved closer to the cage and glanced at it again. "Hey, you didn't come home." I spoke very softly and watched Demona stand up and move closer to me as well.

"What are you doing here?" Demona's voice was a little harsher, but her eyes made me think she wasn't too mad.

"I was worried about you. I told them I needed to find you, but I had to tell them a lie. If I had explained that they'd stolen my clan leader, along with all of the rest of my clan, and I wanted her back I didn't think they'd be too receptive." I told her quickly and noticed her eyes soften just a little.

"Clan leader huh?" Demona smiled just a little and I blushed at being teased at a time like this. I'd never outright said I was her clan before.

My blush faded as I looked at the very well built cell and frowned. I moved to stare at the wall the cell door apparently was hinged on. "This cell is far too high tech for this place." I complained as I studied it. With my programming I could figure out three potential ways to disable it, but they all required tools I didn't have. "I'd need a few things to unlock it."

"And then what? Did you bring a gun?" Demona asked and I felt a wave of shame.

"I don't know where you keep them, if you have them in the house and I can't exactly shop during the day like you can." I admitted. I looked at the floor of her cell. "And while I now know what I need to break you out of this, I don't have it. I don't even know how to buy it."

"Do you know where what you need is? Can you steal it?" Demona asked and I felt a little foolish as I realized stealing was a possibility I hadn't even considered. For her I could do that. It wasn't like I hadn't occasionally stolen the food if it was easy to get to, this was just a bit more. Sure it would take breaking into a place, but if I moved fast I could pull this off. Hell, once Demona was out I could send cash to cover what I took if it bothered me too much. I just nodded in response and then glanced off toward the direction the others had gone. "My weapons at home are in the basement. The code is AHB986." Demona told me quickly and I did my best to memorize it. I knew about the basement but I've never been in there.

"So now I have to interrogate you about a health problem I hopefully don't really have." I told her what my cover here was just as quietly as we'd been talking before. "I may have lied about my age, so it was believable that you'd be there when I was made."

"You're hardly the first female to lie about her age." Demona sounded amused and I looked at her to see a small smirk. I also noticed she seemed to be more relaxed. I felt like maybe she trusted me to handle this, and I wasn't sure why she would. This was well out of my realm of experience, but for her I'd do my very best to get her out of here.

"Okay." I spoke softly and then just nodded as my voice rose a little. "I know you were around when they did this to me if you didn't order it yourself. This is sick."

Demona rested a hand on the partition and I moved mine to where it almost looked like we could touch as she gave me a sympathetic look. She knew this was my fear, why I worked so hard on learning more about genetics. "It isn't like I bother with the details, those were Dr. Sevarius job, that's why I paid him."

Fang at least needed to overhear part of this, but Demona's voice dropped. "I thought he'd completely cheated me once I saw the clones, but I think I got my money's worth with you even if I didn't know you were created." I took a deep breath as her words wrapped around me. I pressed my hand harder against the door, wishing I could hug her, because I really needed to after her words, even though I never had before. "Sure he talked about failsafes." Demona's voice was at a normal speaking voice, perhaps a little louder as she continued for me since I found myself unable to think of words.

My claws tried to gain a grip in the door, but I barely managed to scratch it. "Those failsafes could cost me my life. I need more details, I need to know where to look. Anything, any hint." I told her and my voice cracked. I wish someone could give me that hint or reassure me that I was just fine.

"Look, I don't know very much." Demona was still acting, but it was a softer expression on her face and her voice was almost sincere. "I heard Thailog and the good Doctor talking at times, but I was busy with other things. If I could tell you I would. There aren't enough gargoyles, the humans saw to that." Demona's voice dropped to a whisper. "I wish I could ease your mind."

"I don't want to die, I've just started to live." I told her and my eyes were watery. I had to look away, because I was barely acting anymore.

"You won't." Demona growled very quietly and I looked at her through my watery eyes. "I won't let you. If you really think there is a danger I'll put every scientist I have on it." It was an oath, and I stared at her in shock. She'd do that for me.

"I don't know, but I'm afraid." I admitted it to her.

"Get Xanatos to research on the other clones. If something was done it would have been done on all of you. I won't have access to them, but what they find in the others could help us with you. If I need to stay locked up long enough for them to start looking I'll stay." Demona was talking quietly again and we left the acting alone. Demona told me, her eyes starting to blaze red. "If that doctor betrayed me in yet another way I want to stop him before it hurts you, even if it does mean getting Xanatos to do some of the work for us." I rested my forehead on the door between us and sighed heavily. I was here for her, and yet even imprisoned my clan leader was working to protect me. I found it hard to speak for a while as I let the warm feeling override me.

"You never told me they weren't completed." I spoke quietly again. Someone had best not be watching us, because this was hardly subtle what we were doing. "The males." My words trailed off.

"I know. I didn't want to upset you, and I thought you wouldn't see them before I did say something." Demona tilted her head. "Someone is coming back." Demona glanced at the space she was in. "If you can't get all you need before you see me again, bring me something to read will you? I find it hard to care about human fashion and that is all the magazines they've given me." I stared a moment, wondering where she thought I'd find all these new magazines. I wasn't able to walk into the store and I had no money. I sighed as I added that to my must steal list. I hope I had a tendency toward theft in my programming.

I turned as Talon and Elisa stepped around Fang's cell. "This is going to take more time than I thought." I told them with a fake heavy sigh.

"Is she not cooperating?" Talon seemed to become menacing and I felt a wave of fear that he'd try and make Demona talk.

"She's not a geneticist." I spoke a little coldly as I walked away from Demona's cell, because I didn't want to talk about her like this within sight of her, even if she could hear me still. "I need to see if she heard anything that could hint to what I need to know. She could very well know what I want and not realize it." Talon seemed to calm down a little and I made sure my shoulders slumped in semi-defeat. My inspiration was that I had to get Demona out and I couldn't, I had plenty of disappointment related to that.

It felt wrong to not go say goodbye to Demona at least as I left, but I did. I didn't trust myself to not show how much leaving her there hurt if I tried it, and we had an audience. My heart felt like it was weighed down and weak as I walked through the tunnels with Talon and Elisa. "Goliath said he'd lead you back to the castle."

"I could find my own way." I almost wanted to say I wasn't going back, but I needed to ask Xanatos for a favor. I considered that a moment and decided I'd just ask Fox instead. Fox would help me with testing the other clones. "It isn't like it's hidden, it's the tallest building here."

Elisa grinned a little. "Look, I think he really just wants to talk to you."

I sighed heavily and was quiet for a few steps. "I need to come back tomorrow to talk with Demona again. I know the way now, and I can see the clan doesn't like seeing my kind. They don't need to take me."

Elisa stopped walking and grabbed my arm, making me stop too. I turned to see a concerned look in her eyes. "Lilith." Elisa spoke one word and seemed to be thinking hard about the rest. I could tell she was looking for reassurance and an excuse for the clans behavior, but she wasn't finding any. "They just need to adjust."

"And how is hiding us away so they don't have to look at us helping them adjust?" My eyes glared red. "Gargoyles underground, that's what's unnatural, not me. We have these wings for a reason, who would shove us underground so they don't have to be bothered with us?" My voice cracked and her face looked stricken. I was starting to feel I could say this without risking it all, and I still did care about the other clones, even though they weren't what I had hoped. "The clan glides every night, but when was the last time Malibu did, or Hollywood, or even Delilah?" I turned to look at the walls of the tunnel. "No one even noticed that if I'm possibly dying, so are they. So are we only allowed a few miserable months of life underground?"

"No ones ever complained." Elisa spoke, sounding a little horrified.

"You think their programming lets them?" I turned to stare at her. "Surely you've noticed that the males aren't quite right, and Delilah is, well, you saw."

"Why aren't you like them?" Elisa asked and I flinched.

"Because I was first." I took a deep shaky breath. "And when I was smart enough and able to reject Thailog's offer to be his sex slave he must have realized that the programming needed to be adjusted. They're like that because I wasn't. If I'd just accepted…" My words trailed off.

"You can't blame yourself for that!" Elisa spoke up and seemed to demand my attention. I looked at her. "Thailog was a real piece of work and there is no way that he didn't consider this before you were created."

"He did want to make sure everyone understood he was in charge and they were just there for his pleasure." I muttered. "He had to be the evilest and most selfish gargoyle to ever exist, so of course he thought he should be in charge." Thinking of what life would be like in a clan run by him made me shudder. Elisa's hand petted my arm before moving away from me. "He ruined them so no one would challenge him, so he'd be default clan leader. He has no principles, no ability to care about others."

"And your programming still allows you to see that." Elisa stopped my rant. "The others can't quite yet. That's why they are here, where it would be harder for him to come. Demona says she's killed him, but we've thought he was dead before and he came back. I know you aren't happy with what they have, but we did it to protect them too."

I just stared at her. The idea that he was still out there was going to give me nightmares, even through my stone sleep. That was great, just what I needed, to think he was around while I was busy dealing with all of this. I wasn't going to let the others become a part of his Kakistocracy. Demona had principles and she cared. Even having never met her I knew she'd be a better clan leader than Thailog, back when I was merely days old I knew this. I could see we were being led by the least principled creature I was likely to ever meet, I knew that. If he came back, I'd help Demona kill him for real and I wouldn't relax until I burned his body myself.

"There you are." Goliath's voice made me shudder, because I was still deep in thought about his clone. Elisa's eyes seemed to see everything and I looked away from her.

"I need to see Fox now." I told him briefly and stepped around the human detective to start for what tunnel I remembered lead outside.

Next prompts

Trust - Renfield - Weakness


	8. Chapter 8

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Trust – section 17

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I felt the awkwardness like a heavy fog that we were gliding through, sticking coldly to my skin. I was silent, because I really couldn't think of anything nice I wanted to say to the male gliding beside me.

"Lilith." His deep voice finally spoke and I sighed quietly as I glanced over at him. "I know we haven't really talked." It took a lot of effort to not roll my eyes. Of course we didn't talk, he made my skin crawl and he looked like I might be doing that to him as well. I liked keeping my distance from him, and his insistence on showing me back to the castle wasn't welcome. I didn't want to know him. Now I couldn't figure out how to say that and not be rude, so I just nodded. "It's a little jarring to find out someone has made a clone of you, and I am sorry. I did try harder with Thailog, and it's really not fair to you that I haven't tried harder with you because he turned into such a disappointment."

Oh no, I thought with dread, realizing he was trying to create a 'moment' between us. "Look, it's okay. I consider Fox my donor, you're off the hook. I don't expect big commitments or emotions here. I just needed you to show me to Demona, that's all." I told him. "I don't need anything from you." I stressed those words. I really didn't want anything either. I knew it wasn't all that fair, I was just as guilty of judging him by Thailog as he apparently was with me, but all my grievances with him were really based on him. It was just the skin crawling that wasn't something he earned, my distrust and disgust with his actions were all earned.

I knew he wasn't evil, I felt a strong desire to believe he was, but I could tell it wasn't true. He was just in my way, and he was blinded when it came to us clones, but he was probably a good male. How great for him, it still didn't change the fact that I didn't want any connection to him. "I was going to suggest you join the Labyrinth clan, but I can see that wouldn't work for you. Even if Delilah hadn't been so aggressive, you don't really fit with them." He spoke on and I just climbed up in the air, with him keeping pace with me. "Fox's suggestion that you live at the castle might be a good one." He spoke and I found my head turning to the side quickly to stare at him in a bit of shock. "Yes I know neither of us would be comfortable at first, but I think we'd adjust."

"I'm fine where I am." I told him and could see the doubtful look on his face.

"I know there is little chance of you finding a mate with our clan, but we have connections with other clans. Angela is clearly not a lesbian." Goliath sighed. "Our clan rarely turns out gay gargoyles. Once we thought one of my rookery sisters might have that tendency, years ago, but she apparently wasn't. I believe the elders were rather relieved when she and I started seeing each other, since her life in the clan would have been rather lonely without other lesbian gargoyles around."

I turned to stare at the buildings under us as I let those words travel over me. Something about them bothered me, aside from the lonely aspect. "I thought you were Demona's mate before the spell that froze you in stone." I asked, almost afraid, and a bit hopeful as well.

"I was." I felt a small thrill as I suspected Demona wasn't as straight as that clan thought either. I felt a wave of giddy making hope. "Demona was a late bloomer in her attraction to males, but she was. Other than that I only heard stories of an ancestor that was gay and had long since crossed over before I was hatched. We don't hold to the human's prejudice, but we do regret the hatching of a gay or lesbian gargoyle simply because the chances of more than one in a clutch is unlikely."

"So Delilah's attitude isn't a gargoyle one." I muttered as we leveled out our climbing, seeing the castle in the distance even with us.

"No, sadly that was a very human hatred she was programmed with." Goliath spoke and it felt a bit nice to hear, but I was still stuck on the questions I desperately wanted to ask about Demona but didn't dare. "In this modern world perhaps it may come down to you mating with a human. I hear it is much more prevalent in their race, even if they express so much hatred toward homosexuals." I must have made a face, because he sounded a little defensive. "Some humans are noble and good. If you get over their lack of wings and tail they can be attractive in their own right."

"Maybe some day I'll be that desperate." I muttered. I was starting to feel hope that I wouldn't have to sink to that, what with the questions about Demona's sexuality not being answered to my satisfaction yet. But if Demona wasn't interested I figured I'd be starting to pay more attention to the humans. If Goliath could do it I'm sure I could too, but I'd prefer to not have to. I liked the idea of gliding along side a lover, or being wrapped up in their winged embrace. Humans just couldn't do that. Not to mention I'd have to be so very careful not to break them.

Still, lonely is lonely and I would bet a human female would learn my anatomy rather easily. They were trainable I'm sure, if they didn't run screaming.

"Consider the offer. If you join our clan I will do what I can to find out more about the clans I know exist to see if there is someone out there for you. Any clan would be willing to give up their lesbian sister if she could find a mate." He spoke and I just grimaced. A mail order bride, why didn't that make me feel like I'd find true love? I'd be settling for whoever was gay too.

I'd rather find someone I was attracted to for real, someone I respected. That mental image came with blue skin in my mind and I sighed heavily as we moved to land on the castle's courtyard. Once I got Demona out of this mess maybe I'd ask about her younger days and if she really had any inclination to do more than tease me. I wondered if I said the word Bisexual to Goliath if he'd even know what that was. Perhaps Demona was bisexual.

Once we had stone under our feet he turned to me fully. "I know you have trouble trusting me because Thailog planned to use you so horribly, but while you do make me uncomfortable, I do want what's best for you. I want what's best for all of my clan." I felt a small sick feeling when he held his hand out to shake. I did it, but his calling me clan just made me feel guilty. He was offering too much trust to me, and I knew I wasn't worthy of it. I was spending all my time trying to thwart him in his underground prison efforts. I didn't like shaking his hand while I knew I was preparing to stab him in the back. He'd regret this night sometime soon. It was a shame, he was making pretty offers I might have jumped at before I found Demona.

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Prompt: Weakness – section 18

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Fox was waiting for me. I could see her red hair as I landed. I nodded politely at Goliath and then started to walk towards my female donor. "Lilith, did you get your answers?" Fox spoke and I grimaced at the lie I was telling. Fox misinterpreted it. "I see. Well, anything we can do to help, we will. David and I can have access to the best scientists in the world in a matter of days."

I felt like a worm, and the shame hurt in my chest. I stopped in front of her and just stared at her a moment as I tried to think. "Maybe they could check the others? Just to make sure they're okay?" This was what I was here for, but Fox's offering before I asked really impressed me. If I really were desperate like this, well, Fox seemed like I could count on her.

"I believe that can be arranged." Fox smiled just a little, but her eyes were concerned.

"Thanks." I muttered and glanced to the side to see Goliath giving us one last look before going inside. "I should probably go." I muttered, thinking of all the stealing I had to plan.

"I really wanted to talk to you first." Fox spoke a little faster. I looked back at her. "There are things I think you should be aware of about what you might have inherited from me. I sure wish my mother had told me." The last sentence was too quiet for a human to hear so I didn't respond to it and let her know I got the hint she wasn't happy with her mother. "I'm not completely human." Fox spoke and I felt my jaw open just a little as I stared. "I'm half of what is known as the Fey. I just found out shortly after Alexander was born, and my son has magical powers." Fox stared at me and I had wide eyes. Magic? I knew it was real, and had heard about the Fey, but this was the mystery in my DNA. This was the odd connections that couldn't be explained by the Doctor that made me. While I had no significant amount of human in me, because of the sifting he'd done with my genes as I was created, he wasn't able to filter out the Fey in me. I stood still and blinked stupidly as I considered that.

I had no idea what it meant to have that rogue DNA, but my half brother of sorts could do magic, that was interesting. I was created a scientist, but I sure wouldn't turn down the possibility of magic also. "Magic isn't as easy as it seems. I'm a full half Fey and I can't do any unless the situation is really stressful." Fox spoke a bit more softly. "Alexander showed promise very young, obviously. There is a chance you won't have any powers Lilith, I just can't tell either way."

"Okay." I sighed and shelved the magic idea and my fascination with the idea for now.

"Your grandmother is the Queen of the Fey." Fox told me and I found myself blinking stupidly again. What was the right response to information like that? I found that there wasn't one so I just stared at Fox until she grinned just a little. "Speechless?" She teased.

"This is just a lot to take in." I muttered and turned to stare at the starry sky. This far above Manhattan a few stars were able to shine past the city lights. "I mean, being a clone is odd enough. People don't know how to treat me now."

"Everyone here is aware of my dual heritage. They learned when I did. They are already aware that you may have inherited more than your looks from me." Fox had a dark look in her eyes for a moment. I didn't really care for that, but I was a little used to being the last to know about me, who I was. I was programmed and there were people out there that knew more about what all I knew than I did. Being the last to know wasn't new to me, but it did irritate me. "Also, the clan and I have a rather tense relationship. I hope it doesn't color their impression of you, but it may. I'm sorry." Fox spoke softly and I turned to face her, concerned.

"I'm fortunate, very fortunate to have a connection to you. I see how the others react with their clones and you don't do that." I spoke firmly. Of all the people here, it was Fox I would miss when my betrayal was realized. Maybe she'd been right, and I was a momma's girl. "I know you were on the wrong side of the law." I spoke more quietly of my programmed knowledge. "And the wrong side of the clan. I really don't care. I don't think I'd care if you still were, except to worry about you getting hurt." I barely knew her, but I felt a strong connection. I felt a little foolish for such a strong display when we weren't very close yet, but Fox smiled and it seemed I hadn't done something too strange.

It took just a moment to realize that I had a weakness now, and it was Fox. I had plans, schemes to create and hatch, and I was finding myself balancing along a fine line in this battle, a line between my clan leader and my female donor. I didn't want to disappoint either one of them. It was an impossible situation, and I sighed heavily again while looking out over the city. I had to just enjoy this while it lasted, because I had responsibilities that didn't include this place. "I need to head home." I spoke quietly, but in reality I needed to case out a few potential shops that may have what I need, and if I was lucky steal and hide a few things.

I was going to have to risk doing my day's sleep in the city again, so that I could use that time I'd normally travel back to Demona's home and back for other things without making the clan suspicious. My stomach clenched at the necessity and a bit of fear. Even Demona wouldn't approve of this, but I needed her back before I got too comfortable around here.


	9. Chapter 9

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Renfield – section 19

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I was very grateful to wake up again, and I took a moment to take a deep breath in relief as I looked around at the rooftop I'd turned to stone on. I was so far away from safety it had terrified me to sleep here, especially after what almost happened to me last time I'd turned to stone in the city. I glanced around at the darkening sky and then at the city below me. No one would expect me for another hour and a half, so hopefully I could get some of my supplies before then. I'd determined last night that there were three possible places in the city, and I was now standing across from the one furthest from the Eyrie building and the clan. They wouldn't have started patrol yet, I was counting on that as well.

The tense anticipation of my crime was a nerve wracking and also exciting feeling as I stood there and looked down at the building I was about to break into and steal from. I needed some circuitry and I could adjust to break into the security of that see through cage holding Demona, and unfortunately, like Demona said, I needed weapons to fight out way out of that place. The Mutates were naturally armed with electricity they could toss at us from a distance, and gargoyles didn't have such things. I was actually more worried about the Mutates than I was about Goliath's clan. For once their tendency to avoid me might be useful. They didn't want to hang out with me in Demona's prison.

I noticed a man step out of the building and turn to lock the store up. It was closed. That was good, better, than I deserved really. I jumped off the building and glided quickly down into the alley next to his building.

The door wasn't a challenge, but I was pretty sure there was a silent alarm. I moved quickly into the place, and my wings were tight to my body to keep from hitting anything, but my tail did accidently send a display into a tumble on the ground. The loud clanking made me hiss in shock a moment, but then I did my best to ignore the mess I'd made as I moved further in.

He had some promising looking items, and I didn't have time to read the backs or look over them in detail so I started tossing them into a trash bag I'd found under his counter. I left the cash register alone and I did my best to not make any more mess than I had. I wouldn't vandalize that man's business as well, I had limits. As thefts go, I wanted him to consider this one not that bad. It would be best if it took him a long time to realize what I'd taken too.

I had the components of what I hoped would become an interface for that sophisticated cage they had my clan leader in and was just standing up when I heard fast moving cars and sirens in the distance. With a heavy sigh I rushed to the door I'd come in at. There weren't enough gargoyles in the city for a glimpse of me to not give Detective Maza all she needed to know if word got to her.

I closed the door behind me and leapt up at the alley wall, with the bag hanging from my belt for now. I noticed the headlights hit the alley below me as I made it to the roof. I ran quickly to the other side of that rooftop and leapt off while grabbing my bag of goodies tightly in my arms. I had another store to break into and then all of this to hide, all before I stopped by the Eyrie.

Goliath wanted to provide a body guard of sorts for me, since Delilah had attacked me in the Labyrinth. It was an annoyance, and I really thought that I could probably fight off Delilah if I had to. It hurt my pride a little, but more irritating was that it ensured there was always a gargoyle around me. I'd just have to up the creepy clone factor, perhaps try and talk like Fox a bit, and they'd leave me alone. I considered that as I glided a few miles and then stopped on another rooftop.

I hide both bags on a roof that was between the Eyrie and Demona's home and I planned to get it on the way home. I'd need time to assemble a device, which meant I'd not be freeing Demona tonight or tomorrow. I didn't like that. If I just didn't turn to stone, if I was like Demona, I'd have it built and ready to go tomorrow. Well, I still needed weapons and perhaps a few other things. I hope she was serious about being okay locked up a bit longer; I didn't want her disappointed with me. I was doing the best I could with what little I had.

The Eyrie was really incredibly tall, I thought, as I glided up higher and higher so I could land on it. I felt a bit awkward when no one was coming out to greet me. I took a few slow steps into the building and heard the television and a few male laughs.

I walked into a movie night, and I didn't see Goliath or Angela, just the Trio and Hudson. I looked down and added Bronx to the list. "Man, Vampires are crazy. What were humans thinking?" Lexington spoke up as the dark castle image on the television caught some of my attention.

"You know what, I think Demona needs a Renfield. She's immortal and older than that Dracula guy." Lexington continued and my jaw clenched a little.

"Who'd follow her around hoping to be made immortal?" Broadway muttered.

I was a little surprised when all of the young males laughed. "Xanatos."

"That's not even funny lads." Hudson grumped and I took another step into the room. Hudson noticed me and smiled. "Lass, we weren't sure when you'd be arriving." That had the others turning to look at me. I noticed that the young males were looking at me a little more closely than normal and I was hoping it wasn't the change of heart Angela predicted.

"I don't live all that close." I half explained myself without lying.

"You could stay here at least until this mess is cleared up, you'd be welcome lass." Hudson told me gently and I felt like changing the topic fast. I felt bad every time they opened up a little more towards me.

"I need to get going. Who's playing my body guard?" I spoke up, hoping it wasn't one of the young males. My prayer was answered when a feminine voice spoke.

"I will." Angela said and I turned to see her in the doorway. Her voice softened. "I heard what happened with Delilah and I thought it couldn't hurt for her to see me with you. She needs to get over that programming and seeing other females around you might help."

"Most likely she'll just accuse me of perverting you." I mutter as I move toward the doorway.

"I wouldn't mind seeing a little of that perverting." Brooklyn teased and I felt my face blush at his tone.

"Brooklyn." Angela's eyes burned red just a second as she glared up at him and I didn't bother looking back when he muttered an apology.

We leapt off the castle quietly as I considered the female beside me. She proved to be rather perceptive, because I was unhappy going back to that place and she let us glide in silence. I needed the time to prepare for seeing my clan again and Angela just squeezed my hand after we landed, before leading me into the tunnels.

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Prompt: pervert – section 20

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I felt a bit tense as we stepped out into the more well lit area and I looked around for the clan I now was hoping not to see. They weren't there, just the mutates and a few odd humans that looked rather ragged. I glanced once more just to be sure. "I know my way to Demona from here." I told Angela, but the female just stared at me a moment.

"It's been a while since I talked with mother. I think I'll go with you." Angela spoke and I had to work to not grimace. I wasn't sure I could talk her out of it without seeming suspicious. My heart sank, I needed some time alone with my clan leader, I needed guidance. I was feeling so lost and ill equipped for what I needed to do, and I needed to tell her how long I thought it would take me to try and do it.

"Okay." I muttered, because I wasn't in a position to deny her. I sure wished I was though.

Talon didn't slow us down much, he just said hello and then continued with what he was doing. I nodded back and semi-lead the way to Demona. Fang's voice reached us well before we were there.

"If I were locked up with that loud mouth, I think I'd kill him." I muttered in my sympathy for Demona and my own reluctance to walk near the mutates cell. Angela hissed a little and I glanced at her. She was giving me a disapproving look, so I just sighed and didn't say more about Fang.

I turned to glare at the wall, but when Fang whistled I kept my face impassive. "whoa, and here it isn't even my birthday." He called out lewdly. We were going to have to walk past his cell and he was already irritating. "Hey sexy things, how about you two slip into my cage and I'll show you a real good time."

"I'd rather rip your intestines out." I muttered, but then I glanced over at Angela. "But Angela was talking about you all the way here. I think she's interested." I gave a shocked Angela an evil grin.

It was amused to find Fang targeting Angela with lewd comments and whistles after that. "Sexy purple hotty, I'm just the man to scratch your itch." He called out to her and I watched as Angela started to walk a bit faster. I didn't rush though, she she couldn't just leave me behind so she had to slow down. "You have great tits, you know that?" Fang yelled out his version of a compliment to Angela and I found myself glancing down at her chest a moment. She glared at me then, and I just smirked.

"You finding it hard to not want to kill him yet?" I spoke quietly as I glanced over at the male and found even I was surprised to see him flashing us. "What a pervert." I shook my head, but it was amusing to see Angela blushing. Perhaps Fang would encourage Angela to keep her visit here brief.

"That wasn't very nice." Angela growled at me once we'd gotten past his cell.

"Now imagine not being able to leave when you get sick and tired of him." I spoke a little coldly and nodded toward Demona's cell. It was a little obvious, but I just hated that Demona had to listen to this. Demona was unbelievably attractive, so I knew Fang had to be yelling sexist and disgusting things at her. I was pretty sure solitary confinement would be preferred to Fang's company.

Angela sighed and her shoulders seemed to relax, just before we stepped in front of Demona's cell. "Hello mother." Angela spoke first and I watched as Demona stood up and took a step closer to us. I hated seeing her here.

"Daughter." Demona spoke with a tension that I never heard her use with me.

"Hey, incest. Not usually my thing, but I'd pay to see a purple and blue skin flick." Fang yelled out.

I felt a blush cover my face at his words, one that was matched by Angela. Demona's eyes just burned red. I glanced around at the cell walls, not looking at either of them for a moment, as I tried to get that image out of my head.

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Prompt: non-sequitur – section 21

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I wasn't left alone with Demona for any length of time. It was all I could do to not show my irritation at Angela's never ending presence. Demona and I had to talk about the cloning process, Dr. Sevarius, and science the entire time I was there. I couldn't tell her about my progress, or that I couldn't show up the next day and get any work done on the device I needed to make. I couldn't tell her that I missed her either.

I really was sick and tired of Angela by the time we were ready to leave. It must have shown on my face for a moment when I turned to leave Demona's cell, because Angela gave me a slightly startled look. I did my best to calm it down, but my fists needed to be consciously uncurled. I liked Angela, I really did, but she was forcing me to act when all I wanted to do was finally be myself and ask for comfort from my clan leader.

Demona could just say a few words and make me feel better, I knew she could, that she would, if she knew how I was feeling, but I couldn't even say anything. I sighed as we started to get closer to the pervert's cage. Perhaps it was better I couldn't talk to Demona right now. I didn't want her disappointed in me. Perhaps after she's free would be a better time to admit I have some guilty feelings about this. I wouldn't want her to think I want to leave her there, because that's not what I want at all. I just don't like this spy game I'm playing or that I'm starting to like people I'm working against.

"Hey Grey Babe, you ever go down on purple there? She as tasty as I think she is?" Fang called out and I glanced over at Angela's blush and angry clenched fists.

"She tastes like heaven." I mutter to him flatly, not because I wanted to speak to him at all, but because if he was irritating enough Angela wouldn't come with me again. He whooped loudly and then started to whistle. His words to Angela were enough to make a construction worker blush and I just stared ahead and did my best to ignore what I'd instigated. It was a little hard, because sure he was a disgusting pervert, but some of what he said or asked was funny.

"What was that?" Angela spoke in a harsh clip as we got far enough away from Fang's cell to not hear him very well anymore.

I tried to not do it, I really did, but a small evil grin was too hard to fight. Some of his crude comments had been a bit amusing after all. I was in the process of covering my amusement up when she grabbed my arm a bit too tightly. "You think that's funny?"

"Well, he had some good questions. Do you use your tail for that?" I pretended to cough to cover up my chuckle. Her eyes burned red for a moment, but it faded.

"Sister." She made that one word a long and irritated sound. "I don't appreciate being the butt of sex jokes or harassment. I'm shocked that you actually played into that. You are my sister, by blood." It sure sounded like a scolding.

"Does that mean I don't get to go down on you?" I grinned evilly and felt rather proud of the shocked look on her face. She wouldn't come back here, I was pretty sure. "Relax, I'm not even remotely attracted to you." I turned to walk as she let my arm go. "It's actually rather amazing how not at all attracted I am. I mean, I've felt a little spark of something with most females, nothing big enough to really pay attention to, but you… It's like you could be a wall. I feel absolutely, positively, nothing."

"Gee, thanks. I feel better now." Angela sounded a tad snarky to me.

"You should, I mean you must be the only female I consider completely unattractive." I turned to give her a small grin.

"Well, not that females are interesting to me at all, but you do absolutely nothing for me either." Angela spoke back and there was a hint of a grin that I had to do something about.

"Yeah, I bet you'd be attracted to Bronx just like Fang suggested long before you'd consider me." Her grin faded and her eyes burned just a bit at my words.

"You are sick. Did Thailog program you that way?" My heart ached just a moment and my grin faded as I looked away. It wasn't a good feeling. The silence after her words made it clear she'd shocked herself as well. "I'm… oh sister, I'm sorry." She spoke softly and I swallowed hard and just nodded.

We weren't interrupted and I didn't bother speaking as we walked through the main area for the tunnel out. The silence was awkward and I found myself thinking about how much of what Fang said I understood, could even visualize. I had been programmed with more than enough sexual knowledge to understand. It wasn't nice to think about.

"The first time I actually had time to talk with my mother was down there." Angela spoke quietly. "I'd help to lock her up." This non-sequitur drew my eyes to her, after I'd been avoiding looking her way for a few minutes. "I don't feel good about that. My mother has done some really horrible things, but seeing her in a cell, even if she deserves it." Angela went quiet.

"I hear my donor hasn't been an angel either." I mutter and turned to stare at the tunnel. I would prefer to address the illegalness of locking people up without a trial, but perhaps Angela already understood that.

"The first time we captured her it was a trick to create the clones." Angela spoke in a distracted way. "She'd stolen the males blood while they watched her." I glanced over at her again. "But she didn't know about Delilah, I could tell she didn't. Were there any other clones she didn't know about?" Okay, my heart pounded a bit hard at that question, wondering if she'd figured out my lies. "Is there another clone out there? One of me? Perhaps one that Thailog succeeded in keeping?"

Oh, this was about something else. I was relieved. "Not that I know of." I just reached out and slowly took her hand in mine as we walked in the dark tunnel. I imagine it would bother her to think that.

"But Thailog, he's sick enough to want someone related to him by blood isn't he? He wanted you after all." I felt Angela's arm shake a bit in my hand, but she gripped my hand with her own. "He'd said things like Fang said to me when I met him. He'd suggested things I thought physically impossible."

Oh hell, now I felt guilty for setting her up. I sighed heavily and turned to face her. In the dark I could still see her relatively well. "Yes, he was sick enough to really do it, but I don't know that he could. My blood was handy, they already had it. Delilah was made from a lover he already had and Elisa. I suspect if he'd made a clone of you he would have brought her."

"That makes sense." Angela sighed. "I just, the way you talk about not being attracted to me, that's what blood siblings should be like. You really aren't, are you?" Angela stared at me and sure I could tease her, but not now.

"No. I can see you are very pretty, but I don't feel anything." I told her seriously.

"That's the way its supposed to be." Angela nodded. "I thought maybe because he was a clone his instincts were off, but he just was sick. Sick and dangerous on so many levels." It was my turn to nod and I turned to start walking, but she held me still with her hand in mine. "Lilith, I'm sorry he made you for that, and I want you to know I don't think of you like that. Whatever he wanted you for, it has nothing to do with who you are. I'm sorry I said that, I didn't mean it."

My eyes ached with tears that wanted out, but I just squeezed her hand and she finally let me go. "I need to head home soon." I told her, my own non-sequitur, because I didn't really want to talk about this. Still, I thought I'd accept her apology. "And I can't come tomorrow. The woman I stay with needs my help with something."

"But we're okay?" Angela asked.

"Yeah, we're okay." I told her.

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New prompts, lust, mirror, candle, sponge in any order, next post.


	10. Chapter 10

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Mirror: Section 22

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"Fox." I spoke softly as I watched her staring into her mirror and putting some red lipstick on. The device I'd created was tucked into my clothes and poked me often. It was the result of hours of work and I was relatively confident it could do the job of unlocking that cage. It wasn't comfortable to smuggle it in under my breasts, but it wasn't visible that way. I won't even talk about the gun strapped so far up my inner thigh I should marry it.

"Yes Lilith?" Fox's voice was soft and teasing and I just stared at her reflection, seeing her looking at me through the mirror. I'd come tonight because I didn't think I'd be welcome tomorrow night. I felt a bit sick, because while I was glad to be ready to free Demona I was going to miss this. My donor was smiling at me and I didn't think I'd see that again. Her smile faded. "What's wrong?" She asked what I couldn't really answer. I just sighed heavily as I considered lies I didn't want to tell.

I stared down at the ground so I didn't see her turn around, but I did see her shoes enter my line of sight. "Tell momma all about it." Fox spoke in a slight teasing tone, but I could hear some concern.

I forced myself to look up at her and I just stared for a long tense moment, trying to memorize what I saw in the mirror any time I looked. The tattoo and red hair changed her appearance, along with the human skin tone, but it was a very familiar face to me. "Everything with Demona is just taking so long." I sighed heavily, sure that my truth would be misinterpreted. "I just wish it wasn't so complicated."

"David and I have some brilliant scientists looking over the other clones' blood." Fox's eyes softened as she thought what I had expected she would. "We could look at yours too." It was a gentle offer, and I stared down at my arm, thinking of the blood under my skin. I could give her just a little, just to be sure I was okay. I didn't have the time to do more than occasionally think about my research lately, and I was sure if I were a human I'd have an ulcer with all the worrying I did about this.

"You'd tell me right, no matter what?" I asked, thinking about the split I was bout to make with this clan. "No matter what?" I looked up into her eyes, stared into them.

"Yes, it's your body and I'd tell you." Fox reassured me and I nodded. I'd give my blood to her, she had given hers to me after all. Fox would find a way to tell me what the results were, even after I left. I just got that feeling about her. I had a good donor, better than any other really. I trusted her. I sure hoped that she wasn't going to learn not to trust me.

We went down the elevator, and I donated a good deal of blood. More than Fox thought they needed right away, because I didn't expect I'd be around later to give more. "I should get going." I spoke quietly as the doctor left with my bag of blood. I felt just a little dizzy, but it wasn't too bad when I stood up.

"Yes, and David should be ready to go soon." Fox stared at me a moment as we moved toward the elevator again. "You can always talk to me if you need to." She offered and I smiled just a little at that.

"Of course momma." I whispered and she rolled her eyes at my teasing.

"You best be going or if David sees you he'll spend all night telling me about his twin fantasies again." Fox spoke as we stepped out of the elevator a bit later and I blushed at her evil smirk.

I swallowed and gave her a weak smile, before I left to find the clan. Someone was going to be escorting me to the Labyrinth again, but I was hoping to get them to leave me alone once I was there this time. I hadn't visited in two nights now, and I had to prove to Demona that I hadn't forgotten her for a moment in that time. I'd worked so damned hard to be ready tonight. The fact that this was so hard was just proof I needed to do this tonight, before I started to like anyone else around here.

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Prompt: candle – section 23

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As I made my way to the main room, where I expected to see the gargoyles, I walked quietly looking around the old castle walls. Demona grew up around this castle years ago, they all did. I tried to imagine a hatchling running and playing in the hall I walked down now, but I didn't even know what a young gargoyle would look like.

I wondered what I would have looked like as a hatchling. I sighed at the thought and did my best to push it from my mind. If I really wanted to know I could ask Fox for her baby pictures, we were nearly identical after all, I thought with a hint of bitterness.

A darkened room drew my eyes as I saw an orange flickering glow. I slowed my walk and stared in, to finally identify the glow as a candle. I noticed the table, the tableclothe, and the two gargoyles sitting at it eating what appeared to be a romantic dinner.

It looked like Angela wasn't going with me tonight, I noticed, but I stopped walking and stared in as unobtrusively as I could to watch my 'sister' and her boyfriend holding hands and the soft look on her face. It looked like love. I stared a little longer, before forcing my eyes away and I started my walk down the hall again.

Maybe she'd let me see the hatchling, so I could imagine what I might have looked like, I thought, considering the normal path of relationships for gargoyles. Angela would have a hatchling, my niece, someday. I hoped that I wasn't so hated around here I didn't get to meet her.

I hope the tests they do on my blood show I'll live long enough to meet her. My throat felt tight at that thought, and I gritted my teeth and tried to push the tears that threatened to grow away.

I could hear the males talking as I approached the room with the TV, and that helped pull me out of my mood a little. I had to get one of the young males to come with me today, because they were most likely to abandon me there and I couldn't afford to have another visitor hang out at Demona's cell with me like Angela had, not tonight.

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Prompt: lust – section 24

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Brooklyn had been eager to leave the castle, and I got the feeling he was fleeing it rather than wanting to go somewhere. We left in near silence and the tension around him was filled with bitterness. I hope it doesn't mean I'm a generally bad person that instead of being concerned about him, I felt like I'd won the lottery because he'd be absolutely distracted and not notice what I was up to in time. He was miserable and I saw that as an opportunity.

He ditched me so fast it would be insulting if I didn't want him to. I found myself alone before I even got out of the entrance tunnels.

As I started across the larger room, Talon moved to walk along side me. "How have you been doing?" He asked. I glanced at the large mutate and sighed just a little.

"I'm fine." I gave the stock answer to such a question.

"Have you found anything out? Is she cooperating?" His last words were a touch angry. I didn't like that.

"Some, and Fox is having researchers look at my blood. Maybe they'll figure it out." I told him and watched a very obvious grimace at my words.

"Don't trust Xanatos." He told me firmly. I felt my eyes burn a bit.

"I'm trusting my donor." I informed him. I wasn't stupid enough to trust Xanatos. "Fox wants to help me."

"I'm not so sure she's better." He muttered and I managed to not growl.

"She's my momma." I tried to grin, to make it a joke, but my eyes must be obvious, because he dropped it fast.

"Okay, well, I better get going." He broke off from me just as we got to the tunnel I needed to take to get to the jail.

There was a quiet walk down the tunnel, where I found myself walking slower than necessary. I could feel the gun with every step and it was embarrassing. What was more embarrassing was the fact that it was Demona's gun, and she was better with a gun so I'd be giving it to her. Right after it had spent the entire evening very intimately attached to me.

I also was hoping she didn't have to use it. Killing someone here would be a mess and guarantee I was put on the most wanted list. I'd always have to look over my shoulder when I was gliding in the city, because they'd want to beat me down hard if someone got killed tonight. How could I ask Demona to not fight back though? These mutates were tough, and they had natural weapons we just didn't have.

I felt sick, my stomach was twisting and I didn't think it would take much more to make my body shake. I sure wasn't a brave warrior, I hope I wasn't too much of a disappointment. I just wished that I could unlock her cell and we could just easily walk right out of here. It would be nice.

The pieces of my device were itchy under my breasts, and I sure wasn't going to take any of my smuggled in goods out in front of Demona. I clenched my fists just a little in preparation as I started to step along the side of Fang's cage. Wishing he was asleep did no good. I saw him stand up quickly.

"Hey gray babe. You want a little of this?" He shoved his pelvis forward and back a few times and grinned wolfishly. It was rather disgusting. "Bet you've never had something this big between your legs." He grabbed his crotch and I couldn't stop a small grin, thinking about the gun between my legs now. It was bound to be much bigger than the tool he was talking about.

The grin was a mistake, because he moved quickly toward the clear walls and took it up a notch. "Once you've done Mutate, you never go back. I'm seriously hung like a wild animal."

I know, I'd seen it last time. I didn't comment, I just kept walking at a steady pace and did what I could to ignore him.

"You're really hot babe, you know that? I could totally rock your world. Rock, get it… Gargoyle… Rock." He laughed, I didn't. "You know, those boulders you've got are great." He actually sounded like it was supposed to be a compliment, not a violation, to say that to me. I couldn't help turning to glare at him. He was keeping pace with me as I walked around his cell. "Seriously, I could push them together and," I hated that he didn't need to finish what he was saying before I understood it. I felt like my mind betrayed me by giving me a visual image of his words, I felt dirty.

I didn't speak, and he didn't stop. I sighed heavily once I was out of sight of the mutate, but my feet slowed as I approached the other cell.

She was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring right at me as I moved into view of her. I stared back, taking in the way she leaned forward a little. "You're back." Demona spoke and I felt like apologizing.

"I'm ready." I told her, to explain my absence for two nights. Demona stared at me, seemed to be studying me. She wasn't responding to my words at all. I found myself fidgeting just a little as I waited for a response.

"When midnight came and went I was thinking I might not see you tonight either." Demona spoke quietly and I moved just a little closer to the damned cell walls to hear her. "We don't want to leave too soon. This needs to be timed carefully Lilith, so that they have less help available, but not so late you're in your stone sleep and I'm unable to glide."

I nodded, but I didn't like it. I'd prefer to just hurry up and get this over with.

"Do you have my gun?" Demona asked and her eyes seemed to move over me. I blushed as I thought of where it was.

"I have the small one." I told her quietly, very aware of my blush. "I couldn't sneak the other one in." I sighed and looked away. "Can we get out of here without…" I bit my lower lip nervously and looked back at her. "I don't want to kill anyone getting out of here." I told her and Demona grimaced, her body shifting as she crossed her arms in front of her, and she leaned back onto the wall behind her. "I only have the one gun, and you'll have it because I really think you're probably better at weapons than I am, but…" I sighed and looked away.

"Your not a warrior." Demona spoke slowly and I felt a wave of shame. I knew gargoyles valued warrior skills above others really. I was a scientist not a fighter, not like this. I looked over at her to see her staring at me, her eyes moving over me again, as if measuring me. "Not every gargoyle can be a warrior. In my old clan there were several gargoyles who took on more nurturing roles. I think in that time you would have been a nursery worker, or perhaps you would have tried to study magic with me, but you wouldn't have been a warrior."

"Our clan is small. Is it okay that I'm not really…" I asked her, my heart feeling a little tight as I did it.

Demona had a small smile for a moment after I spoke, but that faded slowly with some thought in her mind that I couldn't hear. "You'll find I'm a tad bit more flexible in this day and age than Goliath is. As long as you can defend yourself, as long as you can keep yourself safe, I won't demand that you become a warrior." Her eyes became a bit harder. "But you must understand that while I don't demand you become a warrior, I AM a warrior. These people you've been walking around and visiting, they are my enemies. It isn't always how I would have chosen it to be, but it is how it is." I felt that torn feeling again, knowing I was standing between two warring forces and I felt helpless in the face of that.

"I understand." I muttered, but while I understood, I hated it. There was no saving this; I was going to look like the bad guy to the clan. I'd known this was going to happen and I strongly suspect that even if I do nothing other than release Demona from the cage, I'll be treated like the biggest traitor they've ever let into their midst once this was over.

"Good." Demona nodded and then glanced all over me again. "Where is my gun?" She asked, and I found myself blushing painfully again. I didn't really want to tell her.

"Nearby." Was all I muttered, but she was tilting her head and staring at me as if she knew I wasn't telling her everything. I turned to look at the controls for her cage. "Gee, look at that. How did they ever manage to afford a lock like that?" I sounded pretty awkward.

"At least tell me you put the safety on if you have it where I think you do." Demona sounded amused and I couldn't really look her in the face at the moment, but I suspected she was grinning.


	11. Chapter 11

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Cooperation – section 25

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I sighed heavily as I heard Fang's voice, "Hey Grey Babe, I can't hear you. Is your mouth full?" His voice was suggestive and I felt a wave of embarrassment at his words and just glanced at Demona for a moment before staring at the controls for her cage again. "Demona taste as good as she looks?" He compounded my embarrassment. "Personally I think muff diving is overrated. A real man knows how to please a woman and it isn't with his tongue."

"Yes, and while that is fascinating, if you don't go quiet I'll still be very pleased to have your tongue cut out and nailed to the wall." Demona spoke with an irritated, almost weary tone. I suspected she knew it wouldn't work, nothing shut him up. That mutate was likely the most annoying creature in existence and while I didn't like a lot of violence, I did, just for a moment, enjoy the idea of cutting his tongue out.

"Just a little longer." I muttered as I considered the time and my not so slowly dying patience. We'd talked about the research I wanted to do, if someone else walked by we talked about the good Doctor that created me and the process he used, and we avoided any mention of the escape. Demona told me that while Fang had been partially useful last time she'd escaped this place, she really didn't want to deal with him again. It was better if he didn't know our plans.

I couldn't imagine what he'd ask for as payment to keep his mouth shut, so I was very careful to not let anything slip.

"Not much longer." Demona whispered to me and I nodded that I understood. The feel of the device I'd hidden on my body had faded from my attention most of the time, but once in a while I was very aware that it was digging into sensitive skin. Everything was. I sighed and leaned back against the wall across from her cell more heavily. Would it really kill anyone to put a chair in here? My feet were a little tired, so it was good I wasn't planning to run long, and most of our run would be in the air. "How long will it take?" Demona mouthed and I tilted my head as I tried to estimate this. I wasn't really sure, I was guessing. If it took me too long we'd be hard pressed to escape, unless Demona abandoned my stone form here as she ran. I sure didn't want to wake up in her cell later. But if I called it too early and we ran with lots of night there would be nearly ten people chasing us, and I sure didn't want to calculate my odds of outgliding that many people.

I felt a sick nauseous feeling in my stomach and I gave serious thought to ulcers again, as I sighed and stared at the lock I had to outthink. I had to estimate this, and I found the confidence I had in my work faded a bit at that question. "Maybe five minutes?" I answered conservatively. I hoped to do it in three, the longer it took the more chances to be caught way too soon. I'd love it if we were already home and I was in my stone sleep before they figured out we'd left, but it wasn't likely. What was going to take more time was getting out of here. I had no estimate for that, but it seemed Demona did. She was telling me when to free her after all, so maybe she'd planned more than I was able to.

I heard the footsteps, and Fang's changing monologue, so I stared into Demona's eyes. Someone was coming. The slight scratching sound with every step told me gargoyle, and I suspected it was Brooklyn. I was sure he'd be unpleasant, but I needed to convince him to leave me here without making a huge fuss about it.

"Hey, it's getting late." Brooklyn's voice called out to me as soon as he turned the corner, and his eyes were glowing as his face took on a disgusted face. "Let's go."

"I can't." I turned to face him and noticed his fidgeting and the glare he sent the wall, as if he could see Demona from there even through it. "Look, I've wasted too much time. I'll just sleep here and get started right away when I wake up." I glanced at a corner meaningfully. My voice softened. "Delilah doesn't seem to come in here, I should be fine."

He took a few more steps toward me and again glared at Demona, but this time he could see her. "Look, you could stay at the castle and someone could bring you back."

"Do you think Delilah will come back here?" I asked, pretending to not understand he was upset with leaving me alone with Demona. It was ridiculous if you considered that I was always alone with her here, no one stuck around once we started talking science. "I could fight her off, she just surprised me last time." I muttered a little bitterly.

"It isn't." Brooklyn's words trailed off and I watched him glare at a smug looking Demona. She must like to taunt him, I thought as I watched how she leaned against a wall and studied her talons.

I hid a small smirk and then turned to look at Demona. "She's really brilliant. I'm sure that we'll figure this out soon." I complimented Demona openly and watched her grin and glance at Brooklyn, before I turned back to look at him.

Brooklyn's face looked like he'd just smelled something truly disgusting and I just looked at him as normally as I could. "Demona has some ideas that I want to explore, it could save my life." I told him and that disgusting smell look got worse, before he seemed to decide to try and cover it up.

"Well, you are rather intelligent yourself Lilith." Demona praised me and even though it was being done to worry Brooklyn, I felt a wave of happiness at the praise. "It's a pleasure to have such interesting company." She laid it on a bit thicker and Brooklyn glared at her as I watched him.

"Thank you." I told her, and then focused on him, my smile fading a little. "So thanks for the offer, but I really need to work with Demona on this. We might unlock this soon."

Demona's eyes looked amused as she looked at me, and I did what I could to not smirk at Brooklyn's flabbergasted expression. If we were staying another night, I was sure I'd be more carefully watched around Demona, but we weren't staying.

He left rather slowly, very reluctant looking and I finally did grin back at the wickedly grinning Demona. "I think we made him uncomfortable." I told her.

"I'm sure the clan will hear about how I'm brainwashing you soon." She shook her head and sighed, before pushing off the wall. "He's rather hot headed. I was almost ready for him to try and drag you away."

"But then he'd have to touch me, and I'm a disgusting clone." I sighed as I stared in the direction he'd gone. I noticed the movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Demona's hand pressed to the prison's see through wall.

"There is nothing wrong with you. He's a fool." Demona stared at me, reaffirming my right to exist and I pressed my hand over where hers was. She smiled just a little at me, and then it turned a bit wicked. "He's going to feel like an idiot tomorrow when he finds out about you and I. Thanks for cooperating with me, it'll just drive him crazy later."

I stepped out of her sight once she'd nodded to me, after a few more minutes of small talk, and I felt awkward and embarrassed as I reached under my top to pull one half of the device out, the tape pulling a bit too much at the sensitive skin of my breasts.

My hand was reaching up for the other half when Demona's voice startled me, she'd moved to the corner of her cage closest to me. I jerked at how loud her whisper sounded to me, afraid for a moment she could see me. "I wonder where you hid everything?" The voice was teasing and I blushed as I finished pulling the other half of the device out of my shirt.

"None of your business." I muttered, a slight smile on my face at the teasing.

"I'm going to have to use that gun you know." Demona spoke as I was clicking the two halves of the device I'd made together. I grimaced as I remembered the gun. It was still riding rather high. I should probably get that out before she was able to leave the cell and see me do that. "I think that makes it my business."

I bit my lower lip as I set the device against the cells controls and watched the digital readout flash as the computer started to interface with the cage's controls. As I waited for the complete interface I reached down and undid the strap holding the gun to me. It felt warm in my hands, and the removal left a small patch of my thigh feeling cool. "I kept it warm for you, is that enough info?" I spoke as I distractedly reached out to start the process of breaking the code to the door.

Demona chuckled and I felt a little less nervous about being caught as my embarrassment covered it up. I hit a few more buttons on my device, and stared at the small readout that used to belong to a cell phone. I stopped touching it and scratched at my poor tape pulled skin for a moment while another program ran. "So after I do all this, do you think the password will be Talon's birthday?" I muttered as the readout started to show a few matches.

"I'm betting it will be the Detective's cat." Demona muttered and I leaned to the side to look at her. She was just standing there, patiently waiting, if you didn't look down the see the tapping foot. Not as patient as she looked. "How is it going?" She spoke a little more softly.

I glanced at the readout again. "I have the first letter matched so far." I watched another letter appear. It wasn't a birthday. It was some word. "So what's the cat's name?"

"Cagney." Demona drawled and I stared at the letters already selected.

"Nope, you lose." I told her with a small grin, but my heart was hammering and I was trying very hard to hear anything coming my way. "Starts with an A N."

"Angel." Demona seemed to growl a little. I glanced at her, staring at her expression. I didn't quite understand it, but I looked back at the readout and she was right, a G came up next. "Sentimental fool." She muttered and I slowly reached out to touch the keys on the device.

I'd love to ask why she was irritated by the password, but we didn't have time. "Ready?" I asked as my fingers hovered over the keys.

"I've been ready for days." Demona spoke and I felt a bit disappointed that it had taken me this long. I punched in the keys and a red light started to shine into my eye.

"Shit." I muttered at the proof there was a retinal scanner. "Gimme another minute." I started to type as fast as I could, to try and stop the alarm that was about to go off.

"What happened?" Demona demanded, but I didn't stop to answer right away. I set off another program I had created just for this, but I hadn't expected to need it. I held my breath as I waited to see if it worked. The soft click sounded and I let the breath I'd held out.

"Retinal scanner." I explained as I unplugged my device. The cage door slid to the right and I turned to see Demona stepping out. "I had to bypass it."

She held out her hand and I handed her the gun. Demona grinned as she grabbed the handle and I almost chocked when she brought the gun closer to her face and sniffed. "I'll make sure to give your boyfriend back to you when I'm done using it." She teased.

"Stop it." I muttered as I wrapped my hand more tightly around the interface I'd created.

"Shy about your new love?" Demona continued to tease, but then her expression became more serious. "Thanks Lilith, but we need to get going. Follow me and do what I tell you and we'll be fine."

I wondered about that as I followed her away from her cell. My heart was racing and we hadn't even started running yet. We were in this together though, and I'd done my part. The rest was hers, and she seemed to have some idea what to do, so I just followed.

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Prompt: disillusionment – section 26

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We stopped in front of Fang's cell and even though I'd fantasized about killing the creep I started to feel uncomfortable as Demona stared at him and his eyes widened. "Do you think you can unlock this idiot's cell too?" She asked and I turned to stare at her, my own eyes wide now. I did not want this bastard joining our clan. My mouth started to open, but when her eyes narrowed I just took a deep breath. I could do it, but why? I just nodded.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you." Fang spoke and then his chest seemed to puff up. "I'm man enough for both of you." I just closed my eyes and groaned at his fantasy, but while I thought I'd done it quietly, Demona turned to face me.

"Just hook up your device. We don't have time to wait." What? I needed to control the device. It didn't unlock things by itself. Demona's eye ridge rose a little and I started to get the impression something was up. Demona turned to Fang before I could speak. "Look, we don't have time to wait. It takes about fifteen minutes for the device to cycle through passwords. Meet us on the roof of the Empire State building."

"With bells on." Fang grinned and I just sighed, before moving to the controls. I'd worked hard on this device. I was going to lose it. I pulled the wires out of it and started to attach it. It wasn't even turned on and Demona spoke to me, impatiently.

"Let's go now." She turned to Fang. "If you aren't there by five minutes to sunrise we'll leave without you." Her voice was harsh and then she grabbed my arm, not even giving me time to activate the machine, even though it wouldn't do anything without me and started to pull me toward the hallway and the exit. "Come along Lilith, and remember to be quiet and just do what I say."

I glanced back at the strangely quiet Fang and it dawned on me why we wasted time with him. He wasn't ratting us out now, he was quietly waiting for his own escape that wouldn't be coming. How stupid could he be to think we'd want him with us, I thought with some disgust and then some shame when I remembered that for a moment I'd believed we were breaking him out too.

He was going to be rather disillusioned when the sun came up and he was still waiting.


	12. Chapter 12

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Destruction – section 27

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I followed her, watching her slight crouch as she made her way down the tunnel, the gun held in front of her. I found myself crouching down a bit as well, but I didn't know why. The people around here should expect to see me walking around. I just pulled my wings tighter to my body and followed as we slowly made our way to the entrance to the large opened part of the Labyrinth.

"While I'd like to take the time to repay their hospitality, we just need to run for it." Demona spoke and I studied her back, starting to wonder what being locked up had been like for her, and what it would take to 'pay it back'. As a prison went, it hadn't seemed too bad to me. Well, unless I considered her cell block mate, leaving her near him had been a bit cruel. "Once we're in the air do your best to stay close to me. I hope you've been practicing."

I stopped breathing for a moment. I was too busy, I hadn't really practiced at all since that one glide with Angela. "Actually." I started to speak quietly and slowly. When Demona turned to glance at me it made me feel a bit more nervous. "I spent all my time working on that device we left there. It was a multipurpose interface, because I couldn't tell what all they had…" My words trailed off as I saw something impatient in her eyes. "Maybe we should split up." I offered. I was going to slow her down.

"No, because if they captured you I couldn't play damsel in distress like you did. It would take a full frontal assault to get you back." Demona stared at me as she said that and I felt like my heart hammered just once as I stared back. Her face was serious and I was stunned that she seemed to be saying she'd do that for me. I knew she kept me, which was more than I'd expected, when she found me, but to hear she'd fight for me too was just yet more proof that I had clan. My heart ached in a good way. "You'll glide hard tonight Lilith, and you'll keep up with me. There is no other alternative." Demona glanced away toward the room we needed to cross for just a moment, but I still stared at her dumbly. My mind was stuck on her words, but then the other words, about keeping up with her processed and I felt sick. I was nowhere near ready to keep up with her, but I had no choice.

Once the clan realized I'd betrayed them, I didn't want to be their prisoner. I took a deep breath and clenched my fists. I'd do my best, it wouldn't be enough, but it wouldn't be because I hadn't tried.

"Okay, you're my prisoner until they figure it out. At that point you run and I'll cover you." Demona explained as she grabbed my arm, pulling me in front of her by my elbow. It was a rather forceful tug and I almost stumbled. "I won't hurt you, but act afraid." Demona whispered into my ear and it was soft and tender, before the gun was pressed into another part of my body. "I will never, under any circumstances, pull the trigger on you." Demona told me just as she marched us out of the doorway and into the room.

I was a little off balance, with her hold and fast pace it was like she was dragging me into the main room. I felt a little faint, so I knew I looked suitably scared, just not of her. The mutates in the room were just the two males, but neither of them noticed us first. I saw the homeless man point to us and Talon turning to look, just before I felt the gun pressed hard against the side of my head.

"No, no." Demona spoke a little loudly at the tense mutates now turning to stare at us. "I'm sure Lilith here would like for you to just let me pass." The gun dug into my skull and I really hoped she had a steady hand and not an accident inclined talon.

I stared as Talon clenched his fists and his ears laid back. He looked like a pissed off cat. Claw's eyes narrowed, and the humans, few that there were right now, seemed to know when to leave. There was a mass exodus near the door. I briefly wondered if they'd been here for a fight, before I was tugged another few steps toward freedom.

I was looking down, but I found my heart stopping in my chest for a moment when I was suddenly grabbed and twisted to the side, her arm pinning my wings and arms to my body. I'd have been impressed with the maneuver if the loud blast hadn't sounded near my ear. That just scared me. I noticed her blue arm out of the corner of my vision and the gun being held out toward a wall. I then followed it's aim.

"Nice try Kitty, but not good enough." Demona sounded menacing and I stared at Maggie, who was lowering her arms and staring at me with a little pity. I felt a wave of guilt, seeing that she'd tried to save me. She wasn't after capturing Demona, her eyes said she was just concerned about me. I hadn't even spoken to her more than three words at a time any time I'd visited here.

I was pulled backwards and I did my best to go with it and not stumble. My hands moved up to hold the arm holding me to Demona, but I just rested my hands there. Her arm was strong, her muscles felt like steel. For just a moment I enjoyed that, but then I started to trip and had to focus. I stared at the mutates, the humans were out the door already. Talon looked pretty angry.

I also noticed the steam and looked back toward Maggie, to see a hole in one of the pipes along the ceiling near her that hadn't been there before. I blinked and stared a moment too long. "Pick up your feet and move." Demona ordered me, grabbing my attention again.

I nodded and moved to back up with her faster.

"We're leaving." Demona told the mutates but they moved with us slowly following. My heart was already moving too fast, but the thought of outracing them was an unpleasant one that ratcheted my tension up another notch.

My foot caught on something and my eyes widened in shock as I started to fall to the side. Demona's grip tightened to almost painful and a strange zapping sound filled the room. My feet finally got under me with Demona's help, but then she actually tossed me to the ground.

A crash sound filled my ears, so closely that I just was able to look up at Demona and see her mouth moving, and couldn't hear her over it. "Time to run Lilith." She grabbed my arm and it felt like she'd yank my arm out of socket as she pulled me to my feet. "Run." She yelled at me and pushed me toward the door we'd almost made it too.

There were large bits of stone in the way now, but I jumped over them. "Lilith!" Talon yelled at me, and there was a definite edge of angry. It signaled the destruction of the tentative friendships I'd made in the clan, because there was no way he didn't realize that I was to blame for Demona's escape. I started to run faster as I heard the gun go off again and heard the clack of gargoyle feet chasing after me.

"We need to get in the air. They've only been flying a little longer than you've been alive." Demona yelled at me as something hit the wall next to me. I threw up my arm to protect my face from the debris and kept running. "They were human, they'll be no match for us in the air." Demona said and then there were more shots from the gun, but I didn't look back. I kept running with all I had. I felt that clenching fear in my stomach that I was going to disappoint her big time. I wasn't a strong flyer, and they had been flying since before I was alive. That wasn't as comforting as she seemed to think it should be.

The air got cooler and I felt the breeze. I ran while uncaping my wings and leaning forward. Just a little further and I'd be able to try and catch air.

I jumped at the wall I normally took a leisurely climb up to leave this place and climbed like I was possessed. It took all my willpower to not leap off before I knew I was high enough, I wanted in the air now, right now.

Demona was right behind me, and then suddenly she was gliding in front of me. "Follow me, stay tight and dodge." She yelled out as she turned right sharply, nearly hitting me. The lightening filled the space she'd been in. I pulled up as hard as I could and my shoulders ached with the effort to turn hard, but I didn't hit her and knock us both out of the sky.

Demona was moving fast and I took a deep breath and narrowed my eyes. I wasn't going to fail this test. I pulled my wings tighter and darted after her.


	13. Chapter 13

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt Grace– section 28

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I found myself focused, in an almost sort of tunnel vision. It felt dangerous, but I'd noticed that Demona moved up, down, left right, even when the weird lightening being shot at us wasn't near her, it was near me. She had already proven that she could glide and watch me before, and all I could figure out was she was helping me to dodge the attacks. She also was dodging attacks on herself, but those she didn't dodge until they were so close to her I felt I might forget how to breath as I watched them approach her back.

I just stared at her and moved as hard as I could around the corner of a building. Bricks from the wall rained onto me as a loud blast just missed me.

Demona's tail waved, making it a little easier to see she was diving just on the other side of the building, diving sharp and fast to reach lower air. I took a deep breath before I followed. My eyes were as wide as I could have them with the wind whipping at me. I couldn't hear anything and I was terrified of the moment we'd stop the dive, imagining my weaker wings being unable to turn up like she could.

Her wings were tight to her body and I just stared as they opened up. I found I couldn't look at the ground fast approaching, because if it were up to me I would have turned up a few stories of the building back. Finally, finally she was pulling up and I had to grit my teeth as I fanned my wings out. The wind battered them and it hurt, it did hurt, but I used all the strength I had to push them out and steady myself, while stopping the dive.

I was moving fast though, scary fast, as I tore around a corner of the building and saw we then needed to turn around yet another building.

The mutate's lightning had stopped, but I didn't look around to find them. We were still racing, but this time between smaller buildings.

My jaw clenched as I noticed the shape of the windows passing me faster than ever before. It was the obstacle course. I moved my arms out to protect my neck as Demona dove down and then up, looking so graceful at twice the normal speed we took this. At twice as fast a line to my throat would kill me. I heard a sound, but didn't focus on it. The mutate lightning blasted past me and Demona ducked down, but then pulled up fast.

I was no longer flying in line with her. She couldn't show me the clothes lines from two stories lower. I stared in front of me with my jaw opened as I realized with the mutates shooting, I couldn't follow her every move, not in this area, where the lines complicated everything. My fists clenched and I had to give up on watching her, as I stared at the path I was taking.

The slight shine in the air signaled a clothes line and I pulled up as fast as I could. I didn't bother blinking and I was barely over it when another shine had me diving down.

A loud grunt was far too close behind me and I heard the snapping of a clothes line, a sound I'd heard before as I'd missed a dodge. I couldn't turn, I barely glanced down to see a large form reflected in a window falling. I couldn't look long, because I had to move up and miss another line.

The small buildings opened up to a small street and I pulled up hard to miss the blue female suddenly rising up into the air in front of me. "Graceful." Demona sounded pleased and I followed her up. "You were and they weren't. That's what it takes to survive Lilith. Good job." I glanced back to see the two males, one carrying the other. I stared a little longer, and released my held breath when I saw the one not gliding move an arm.

We rose up into the sky and started to move at a more comfortable, slower pace, toward Nightstone. I glanced toward the lightening sky and started to move a little faster. I could already tell I was going to be spending the day nearby, but hopefully we could make it to Demona's office before the choice was taken from me.

…………………………………..

Prompt: untouchable –section 29

…………………………………..

Demona moved to circled above Nightstone and pointed down at the roof. "Land, I'll open the window." I carefully landed and grimaced as I pulled my wings in tight to my body. Every little movement ached. I watched as Demona glided over the side of the building and dove, and I walked over to the edge to see her glide up to the wall and reach out, grabbing it.

I would have rammed my face into the brick with that maneuver, I thought, as I watched how her strong arms kept her from doing just that. She reached out and did something, and the shine of the window faded as it was pushed into the room beyond it.

She looked up at me with such a sexy grin on her face and waved me down. It was just two stories below the roof I was on. She'd done this before, but she must have lost her remote, because I'd never seen her have to open the window herself. I followed her in as slowly as I possibly could and still stay airborne. My wings protested every motion, but I glided into the window and moved to land on my feet.

"You are getting much better at this." Demona told me and I turned to see her leaning against her desk watching me. "You didn't hit a single line did you?" I felt a bit of pride at the approval in her eyes. "Thank you for getting me out of there." Demona moved to stand up suddenly. "It's almost dawn, we need to get to my secret office. It's more secure and soundproof."

I just stood there, staring around the room. What secret office? I thought, but she approached a bookshelf. It was so cliché, but it moved out of her way. I stared at the opening for just a moment before following her. She waved me in and I moved a bit too slowly, because she was closing the door right behind us and I felt her hand on my shoulder, pushing me in further, into a large second office with a bit more computer equipment.

"You'll have to spend the day here." Demona told me and I glanced around for a safe corner. I felt a bit apprehensive about how exposed I felt here.

Her hand moved to caress my shoulder and I turned to see her looking at me. "I'll protect you during the day. I promise you'll be untouchable here. No human's will come in here and I'll protect the only entrance."

I nodded and glanced at the window and the growing light outside as the sun was preparing to rise. I glanced around again and picked a corner. As I moved to stand in it I pulled my wings tight to my body and glanced at Demona again.

"I wish you wouldn't curl up like you do. You're a gargoyle, and we are fierce." Demona sighed and I hesitated in my crouching. "I will protect you Lilith." Demona spoke more softly, and it seemed a little sadly.

I just stared a moment, wondering what she was thinking about. This bothered her, but it made me feel safer. But did that make her feel like I didn't trust her to protect me?

"Okay." I said quietly as I took a shaky breath and fanned my wings out. I spread my legs and used my tail to help my balance as well. It wasn't a fierce pose, but I was standing up. I saw her smile just a little, before she startled to grimace and then curl up as she screamed in pain. I'd seen it before, and still it took all I had to maintain my pose as the stone sleep took me.

My last thought was that I did trust her, and she had to see that. I trusted her with my life.


	14. Chapter 14

Lone Clone 

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Skewer – Section 30

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I woke up with a growl, and then grimaced as I realized where I was. I hoped that the soundproofing in this hidden room was as good as Demona thought it was.

I glanced around the place and found myself alone, but a noise drew me toward yet another wall. I moved slowly and was still startled when a door opened suddenly. Demona stood in the doorway, and beyond her I could see a bathroom. I noticed her hair was damp.

"Bathing again?" I asked with a small smile. It seemed like an interesting idea, submerging yourself in water. A memory of walking in on her last time had my grey skin blushing and I looked away for a moment. 

"They must lick themselves clean, because they rarely thought to give me enough water to bathe with." Demona's voice was bitter and I glanced at her with some concern. "But enough of that." Demona seemed to take a deep breath as she spoke. "We need to leave as soon as possible. Tonight they'll be looking for us, but then they will settle down. I suppose we should find another area to practice gliding for a few weeks."

"Okay." I followed her out into the air, and glanced back to see the window closing behind us.

"I know I pushed you to glide hard yesterday." Demona was gliding below me looking up, and I wondered if she did that to show off. "But you did very well. I'm proud of you Lilith." Demona spoke and then just did a barrel roll in the air and moved to glide in front of me before I could respond. 

I felt proud of myself as well, and I smiled at her back. I had kept up. Sure, there hadn't been a choice, but I'd done that. And she saw that. I took a deep breath and focused on following her, when I saw we were taking a different route that kept us away from Central Park.

I felt off, strangely empty, as I followed her away from the city. I glanced back at the castle on the skyscraper and imagined Fox staring out into the sky for me. My eyes burned as tears filled them and I did what I could to push that thought out of my head. I was going to miss my mama. Could Demona even understand how I felt about my nearly human donor? 

If I said something about it, would Demona help me call Fox, I wondered. I sighed heavily and focused on gliding. Demona was darting in and out of the bridge lines again and smiling. She was happy. Why couldn't I be? My own betrayal of the clan had managed to skewer my heart 

as well. I felt unwhole as I left the city. Part of my clan was behind me and part of my clan was darting in and out of the bridge. I'd never have it all.

……………………………

Prompt: Miss Innocent – section 31

……………………………

I had questions I wanted to ask Demona. The way she nibbled on her lip as she studied a business report was so sexy that I found suddenly that I could think of little else. My funk over leaving my donor behind faded a bit as I watched the blue female lash her tail a little as she concentrated on something I knew little about. I stopped typing on the computer and found myself just watching her. 

She was so beautiful it was hard to even imagine I'd have a chance, but when she looked up and gave me a confused smile at my staring at her I couldn't help the blush and shy smile I gave her back.

Goliath had said people questioned Demona's sexuality years ago. Did Demona know they'd wondered, I thought as I glanced down her arm to the hand holding the Nightstone report she was busy studying. 

I caught the lingering stare she gave me, before shaking her head and pulling her report back up to study. I also caught the hint of a smile as she read and I stared. "You are so beautiful." I whispered quietly to myself as if telling her, but the words were supposed to not actually be out loud. I watched her smile grow just a bit more wicked.

"Thank you." Demona looked up and her eyes were touching me, making me feel touched and I felt a spike of want as she studied me a moment more, before I had to look away. I glanced at my computer monitor, but I didn't actually read any words. She's whispered just as quietly as I had. Part of me wanted to pretend she hadn't heard, and that I hadn't heard her respond.

"Did you know that your old clan, years ago, thought you might be like me?" I felt like I'd been gliding hard, racing, as my heart hammered so loud I thought it would be easier to hear than my voice. "Goliath told me."

"We didn't have the technology to create clones back then." Demona spoke and I turned to look at her, because I didn't think she'd actually think that's what I meant. 

I just stared at her, taking in her eyes and the slight mischievousness in them. "That's not what I meant."

"They called me a late bloomer." Demona's arms, with the report, lowered to the table, putting it down. "Goliath told you? He must have been working very hard to pull you into his clan to be telling stories of our young days."

"Yes," I pretended to shudder. She smiled a little at that. My playful grin faded as I watched her again. "Am I the only living lesbian gargoyle?" I asked, and my throat felt tight at that thought. "I really don't want to date humans." I muttered as I looked away. "Is that all there is for me?"

I didn't have the courage to ask her straight out, and I felt like I was circling around the topic from too far away to land on it. I felt a little foolish. I also felt exposed and painfully vulnerable in the silence. I had looked away while I spoke, but the longer the silence lasted, the more my head turned back to her.

"Lilith." Demona spoke slowly and I watched her face move from a revulsion to a rather commanding one, neither of which was comforting. "I know you share in Goliath's dna, but I'd really ask that you not follow his tendency to pine after human women." I swallowed hard and nodded, and her back seemed to relax from the rigid posture she'd adopted. Her voice was softer as she spoke again. "None of my sisters looked at me the way you do, and," Demona sighed heavily, relaxing a bit more. "I find that I don't mind it. Perhaps the elders of our clan were right. When I started seeing Goliath, even I assumed the question was answered, but you bring all those old questions back to me."

My fists clenched as I sat on the computer chair watching her move to walk toward me, her tail sweeping the floor back and forth with her motions. Her hips swayed as well, and it was a seductive sway.

She leaned closer to me and then my vision was filled with cracks and light, I roared and stretched. The rock fell from me and I leaned forward to rest my hands on my thighs, bending down from my stone sleeps new standing pose, as I found myself staring at the setting sun. A dream, I felt like roaring out again, this time in anger. It had been a dream. Demona, I'd almost had her, and it had all been a dream.

"Lilith? Are you okay?" Demona's voice asked and I turned while standing to see her standing in the doorway to her bedroom. "You look disturbed."

"I'm okay." I muttered, while turning away and blushing.

"Naughty dreams?" Demona's voice was teasing and my blush grew. My dreams weren't naughty, but they had been good. "I see." Demona sounded amused. "Lilith's been having naughty dreams." She teased and I glared at her, but it was embarrassing and my blush grew. "Anything interesting?" she taunted me with a wicked smile.

"I," My mouth moved a few times but no sound came out. "I didn't have a sex dream." I finally got out a little more quickly and loudly than normal.

"The lady doeth protest too much." Demona smirked and turned to move back inside. "And here I was thinking you were little Miss Innocent, but you're having rather graphic dreams aren't you?"

I just stared after her. Did she really believe her teasing? And Miss Innocent? She did know I was created as a concubine, I knew a lot about sex, just not what two female would do for it, but I knew a lot. I huffed in irritation and followed her inside, hoping the teasing was over for the night.

……………………………………

Prompt: Tail Sex – section 32

…………………………………….

"It looks like the vegetables went bad while I was locked away." Demona spoke with her head in the refrigerator. I watched her tail lash back and forth slowly as she inspected the damage to her food supplies quietly. She was making me dinner again, and I know it was stupid, but I felt a bit teary eyed seeing her back to feeding me. I watched as she reached in and pulled out a jar of something, placing it on the counter all without pulling her head out of the fridge. Item after item was pulled out and placed on the counter. "You really should learn to cook Lilith. I was concerned that you'd end up eating out of dumpsters when I didn't return that night."

"I managed." I muttered and moved to slowly sit at the table, still watching her, but she stood up and closed the door while glancing at me. 

"I'm sure Broadway fed you well." Demona spoke slowly and I looking into her face to see her staring at me.

"He fed me, but it wasn't the same." I swallowed hard. "It wasn't you, when you feed me, its." My words trailed off, and I felt stupid for even starting them. "It means something." I whispered. "It means something when you do it."

Demona smiled just a little. "I wasn't sure you'd understand that." Demona spoke and then turned to the food she'd pulled out to work with. "I've eaten the scraps human's left behind as well Lilith, I've stolen food and what was more closely related to garbage to eat. I understand what food means to you. Even at the worst they'd experienced, I can't say the clan has ever had to resort to what we have in order to survive." I stared at her, trying to imagine her hunting through dumpsters like I had, but I just couldn't see her doing that. She was a rather proud female, and I'd lost all my pride so I could survive.

Demona had moved to focus on opening the meat and working with the other ingredients. I had free reign to watch her, and I noticed her tail was lashing back and forth again, reveling an agitation she didn't show on any other part of her body. The rest of her looked calm, normal, but that tail moved back and forth too fast for it to be true.

I started to become hypnotized with it's movement, and I watched it lash left and right, in a fast but ordered motion. The blue tip seemed to curve a little each time it switched direction. It moved back and forth relentlessly, as Demona focused on other things, and I found my own tail starting to sway like that as well.

I wondered if it was like human's said about yawning. If you saw someone yawn, you did too, only as I watched her tail move my own felt like it couldn't be contained.

The pot was placed on the stove and Demona turned to smile at me briefly, before continuing her work. "I'm going to have to teach you to cook, even though I do prefer you dependent on me for this." Demona's smile was continuing. "We'll see if my little scientist can mix anything without test tubes involved." She was teasing me, but my mind moved to test tubes and how my life began there for just a moment. I pushed the thought away.

"I'd like to be able to make chicken." I muttered, but really I had no desire to do anything more than watch her cook for me. It was beautiful, and if I could do it for myself I'd miss this.

When she sat down at the table to eat with me, I felt something brush up against my tail. That was how I noticed I'd moved it under the table at some point. Demona was cutting up her meat carefully and more gracefully than I could yet. I felt the touch again and curled my tail as much as I could. Tail's weren't really all that flexible, but I was able to move it enough to realize her tail was under the table as well, and it was still lashing back and forth, only more slowly. It hit my tail regularly.

I didn't move my tail. I felt a blush start on my cheeks, and focused intently on cutting my food up, but I didn't move my tail out of her way. She didn't move her tail away from mine either. Part of me, the part that needed to blush, wondered if this was foreplay for females. Part of me wondered how we'd ever be able to do more, and if it would require our tails. I didn't have all that much control over mine, and I couldn't even imagine needing it for sex, but I found her repeated touches to my tail made it feel a little bit more like an erogenous zone. Would my leg feel like this if she'd been playing footsies with me?

Was this playing footsies, gargoyle style? Some sort of tail sex? I started to choke on my food at that thought.

"Careful Lilith. I know I haven't been around, but surely you haven't forgotten how to eat." Demona teased me, and when I managed to stop coughing I reached for the water. She was smiling and a little pleased looking. 

I really wanted to ask her about her sexuality seeing how she was smiling at my coughing fit, wondering if she'd done that on purpose to me. I wanted to ask, but I just started to chew more carefully on my next mouthful of food. 

I was afraid I was wrong, so I didn't say anything.


	15. Chapter 15

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

Prompt: Rebellion – section 33

I stared at the computer screen, but I felt disconnected and unhappy. I did my best not to show it as Demona walked through the room and then into the kitchen. I sighed heavily and stared down at the keyboard as I wondered what Fox was hearing about me now. The stories, which would have to be mostly fictional since few there took the time to get to know me. Did she believe them?

I typed in the words "Fox Xanatos" into the search engine and my talon hovered over the enter key for a moment before I hit it. I didn't even know why I was bothering, but I was a little impressed with the hundreds of matches I received.

I scrolled through the links, looking at the bits of a story they told. Jail, guns, marriage, kidnapping, prison, it told a rather interesting tale. I knew she'd told me she had a history, but as I watched it I was a bit surprised at how much of one. I was made of this, I thought as I clicked another page of links.

I also felt a bit of hope, because if this was her life, I wouldn't seem all that evil to her for breaking someone out of prison. Maybe stories about the evil Lilith would be taken with a grain of salt and she'd be open minded enough to listen to me.

I glanced at the door to the kitchen and sighed as I thought that. Sure it hadn't been expressly said, but it was pretty clear that I wasn't supposed to search out the people I'd met. I was supposed to stay here, and Demona was not comfortable with the idea that I'd want to see other people. I couldn't ask Demona to let me go to the castle, even if I thought it was safe. I wasn't stupid, I knew it wasn't. Even if I could make Fox listen to me, no one else would. Not even Angela.

I slowly clicked on the next page of links and let my depression have free reign as I let my eyes travel over more links about my donor, without really reading them. I scrolled down, to find the next page, when I noticed a link that looked different. I frowned as I studied it a moment, before clicking it. The logo for another business filled the upper left corner, and a picture of Fox in a business jacket filled a quarter of the screen. I stared at the job title, and at the email link, along with other boring business related drivel. Fox was a CEO? My programming filled in the missing information as I realized that Fox wasn't really the CEO, but that her father was dying and this business would be hers when he finally did.

She had an email address with Cyberbiotics. I stared at it in fascination and anticipation, as well as nervousness. The loud noise in the kitchen had my heart stop and my body freeze for a 

moment, guilt filled me as I quickly closed the internet site just as Demona came back into the room.

"I'm feeling a little restless." Demona spoke and I did my best to look innocent as I looked at her, seeing the lashing tail and fidgeting wings. "I need to glide. Want to join me?" She'd been like this for the past few nights and I blamed being locked up underground. I could understand it, but she'd really pushed me last night. It sounded like I had a choice tonight.

"I really would rather," I pointed at the computer. I couldn't outright lie, I wanted to stare at that email link, but I doubted I had the nerve to actually use it. I was tense, because I'd never said no before. I wanted to go, but something was holding me back.

Demona looked surprised, and then I noticed a brief moment of concern in her eyes, before she just nodded. "Rest today, for tomorrow you'll start a new obstacle course. I'll hunt it out tonight."

"Sure." I spoke softly and got another concerned look, before Demona turned to go back through the kitchen and out the back door. I stared after her for a while, before turning back to my computer.

I felt guilty, but I reopened the link and stared at it. My cursor hovered over it for what felt like an eternity, before I clicked it and a email window opened. I stared at the blank message space and the topic line.

Clicking into the topic line, I wrote one word. 'Mama'. It felt rebellious to even do that much and my cursor moved slowly to click in the message box. I had no idea what to write, and I still doubted I'd have the nerve to send it, even though I felt like I had to know. I had to know if she was still there for me.

'Demona never had anything to do with cloning me.' I typed. 'But she did take me in when I had no where else to go. She gave me my safe place.' I stared at the words and sighed as I hit enter twice. 'I didn't want to lie to you, you or Angela, but I did what I had to do. I'm sorry Mama.'

My eyes stung as I hit send. It was short, and I couldn't write more. I was just hopeful she'd read this.

Could Demona ever understand? Fox was my clan too. I closed the window, and erased the history in the computer. I felt like even with all that, my guilt would be painfully obvious with just a look.

Prompt: Hope: section 24

I woke up with a roar the next evening and my first thoughts were of my computer. I was filled with equal parts of hope and dread.

Her silhouette in the doorway was a bit of a surprise. She often was around shortly after I woke up, but not this fast. I turned to see Demona with her arms loosely crossed and her shoulder leaning on the doorway as she just smiled softly and looked at me. "You roar like a kitten." Demona smiled teasingly and I blushed a bit. I didn't think I sounded like a kitten, sure I didn't sound as intimidating as she did, but I was no kitten. "Come on, I made a real feast for us." Demona spoke softly and my heart hurt a little with the gift being given. "You're filling out well, so we'll need to work out more now or after tonight you'll go on a diet. You've lost the half starved look, and we don't want to aim for a Broadway figure."

I grimaced at the image she gave me. I could never eat enough to rival him. Sure I liked food, but I didn't eat any more than Demona. I frowned and she laughed at me.

"I'm just teasing you Lilith, you're beautiful just the way you are." Demona spoke new words to me and I blushed and smiled just a little. "But dinner is getting cold."

"Okay." I walked toward her and felt her rest her hand between my wings as I walked past her, guiding me inside. It felt nice to have the warmth of her hand on me and it lingered there a moment, before I felt her let go. I turned to see her closing the French doors.

"Shall we?" Demona smiled at me and it was different, not amused, but it felt like a flirtation. I nodded and her hand was on my back once again, slowly guiding me out of her bedroom and toward the kitchen. Her hand fell back once we'd cleared her bedroom, but she continued to walk closely next to me.

As we passed the computer I glanced at it briefly, longing to check it, hoping I had an email. I forced myself to look away and took a deep breath of the dinner in the air. It smelled delicious.

We sat down to a fully made up table and I started to feel a little uncomfortable with the obvious effort put into this particular meal. Something was up, and I wasn't sure what it was. She wouldn't do all this for me if she'd figured out what I'd done last night, it had to be something else.

The food tasted so good I groaned with my mouth full and smiled a little in appreciation. Demona just looked amused. The amused look faded and I found myself struggling to swallow as a serious expression crossed Demona's face. "I've been concerned about you Lilith. You've been depressed lately, I can tell."

I felt even more uncomfortable as I used my fork to create trails in the mashed potatoes as I considered my answer. "I'm okay." I glanced up to see that wasn't going to work. "It's just, some of them were my clan. I feel, off." I admitted quietly. I didn't mention the guilt, because I wouldn't change having her back for anything, but I did feel it. I just didn't know how to tell her without it sounding all wrong.

"No, you had no clan there." Demona spoke softly, but it hurt. "You are better than those clones Lilith, far better. It isn't their fault, but it is true." I wasn't even talking about the other clones, I felt no guilt about that, other than still feeling it was unfair I could live free here and they couldn't. Even Delilah, as awful as she was to me deserved more.

"I was talking about Angela and Fox." I whispered and watched Demona's eyes burn red for just a moment, an angry look on her face, before it faded and Demona just sighed heavily.

"I'm sure Angela was very nice to you, but you have to understand." Demona paused and I looked into her eyes, seeing some of my own torment in them. "She is her father's child, and that alone will forever keep her from being a part of our clan. I've tried, Lilith, I have tried."

"Are you sure?" I asked, my voice small. I'd suspected the same thing, that Goliath's vision of the world stood between my lavender sister and I, but Demona was her mother. Didn't that count for anything?

"I wish I had hope Lilith, but my last interactions with my child made it very clear. She just CANNOT see how wrong he is. She follows him too blindly." Demona looked pained and my hand moved toward her, resting over her hand. "He will get my little girl killed, and all my plans to stop him fail." Demona really did sound like she'd lost all hope. I didn't know what to say, so I just squeezed her hand, and held it, for a moment before she pulled it away.

"She glides well, better than the rest. Perhaps she'll be okay." I finally spoke, remembering my one glide with Angela. She wasn't in Demona's league by any stretch, but she was better than the rest.

"Yes, well, I won't count on that." Demona muttered. I had the impression that no matter how many of her plans failed, she'd keep trying.

Demona looked at me, and seemed to take a deep breath to dismiss the last conversation. "I know it can be difficult, but you aren't clanless Lilith. We are a clan." She spoke the last four words forcefully, and stated it in no uncertain terms. I smiled weakly at that, it was nice to be acknowledged, but there was still something missing. "And I respect you far more than Goliath's clan ever would. You are far more than a clone to me Lilith, and I understand that you will never be a warrior. They would hold both against you, but I do not. Unlike Goliath, I try and keep my clan safe. I will protect you Lilith, and teach you how to protect yourself, and I don't have to rely on the humans to do it for me."

She sounded so serious, so concerned, that I felt even more guilt for even being depressed lately. The thought that I'd sent that email had my eyes tearing a bit. I felt like I was being torn in two, and I still didn't fully understand it.

"Lilith, I can give you all the food you need, so you will never have to eat the human's cast off garbage again. I can supply you with a fortress of a home, so you can sleep standing up and not 

have to fear." Demona held my eyes captive as she stared into mine. "There is nothing that clan can offer you, that I can't do better." And with those words I fully understood her concerns.

"I'd never leave, you're my clan." I had chosen this female above my donor, my sister, and the other clones. It had been a very conscious choice, and as upset as I was at having to make it, it was the choice I'd make again and again.

"I do value you Lilith, and I thought you needed to know that." Demona took a breath and picked up her own fork. "Eat, I made this dinner for you." Demona told me gently, before taking some food onto her fork.

It really was a very good dinner, I thought as I took another mouthful. My mind was a bit too distracted to fully appreciate it, but I did understand it. Demona thought I had choices now, and wanted me to choose her.

I swallowed, and then spoke quietly. "I really like it here." I said while just staring at my plate. "And most of that clan gets on my nerves." I admitted with a weak smile. It seemed to make her happier, because her smile looked a bit more genuine in response.

Dinner was quiet, but I made sure she understood I liked it. I stared at the computer again as we passed it, but training came before computers, even my research. We took off into the air so I could see the new course Demona created to work on my control in the air. She was taking a lot of time working with me, making me a stronger glider. I never thought I'd be this lucky in my life, and I knew it was lucky. Yet, I was so distracted by my hope that there was an email in my inbox that I was having trouble doing things I'd learned a weeks ago, never mind anything new.

Prompt: Dare: section 35

"You're doing very well Lilith, but pull your left wing in tighter to make that work." Demona spoke, and I was noticing a very different style to her teaching tonight. She explained things in more detail than ever, and she complimented me often. It actually felt a bit wrong, her normal style was more of a, do it enough times and you'll figure it out yourself style. I didn't know why she changed it.

I did what she said and found it worked, of course it did. Once I was done with the tight loop I'd envied when I saw her do it the first night I'd met her I couldn't help but laugh. "I did it." I grinned big and turned to her as she moved to glide beside me.

"Yes you did." Her smile back made it feel even better. "That's a good move to use when you're being followed and they are close to catching you. You can end up right behind them before they realize what you're up to."

I hadn't considered the use for the move, I just enjoyed the grace of it. My smile faded a bit to see how it worked in a battle. I nodded, but I did miss thinking of it as an aerial dance.

"It also looks rather beautiful if done right." Demona offered more quietly and I turned my head to see her watching me. She understood what I wanted, and I appreciate the gesture, even if it wasn't her motivation for teaching me.

"It does, you look so amazing in the air." I told her shyly.

"So will you." She moved into my side and bumped me lightly with a smile, causing me to stumble in the air as she backed off again. I caught myself quickly and found her leading me lower to the ground for another run through on the modified obstacle course. I had to focus, because mistakes were painful if you ended up ramming into something.

By the time we were done I was very tired and my shoulders and wings ached. Still I felt better, happier, even with my worries. I was making serious progress and Demona had told me so several times. I felt proud of myself. Something I hadn't felt in a while, since Demona had disappeared really.

This time when I walked past the computer I was able to sit down at it. I started by opening up the programs and research I was investigating on the cloning process. It took a lot of willpower to focus on that long enough for Demona to leave the room.

My email was always spam and impersonal. Usually when the topic line contained the word Baby it was sex spam, but I stared at it while my heart hammered this time.

I heard a noise upstairs and my body tensed, until I realized it was just the bath tub being filled. I took a deep breath and opened my message at that point, knowing I had time alone.

I was desperate for it not to be bad news.

Fox had written me back. I stared at the email and was almost too scared to start reading, but I did. She had called me Baby, I clung to my hope, since our nicknames still were being used.

Baby,

I'm not really sure what to say about what little I've learned about your visit with us. Email is hardly the most secure method to communicate, and I'd much prefer to talk with you in person or even over the phone. Forgive me if I seem to be vague about things, but we can't be too specific on a hotmail account.

There are people who think you came to us innocent and Demona has manipulated you. There are others who say you always planned what you did. I must say, as a ruse, the illness was an excellent ploy. Or I hope it was a ploy. I've hired scientist to look into your blood and the blood of the others. Tell me if I should just send them home. They come from all across the world, are experts, as I promised you I wouldn't spare any expense in helping you.



I would like to talk with you Lilith, Baby. I want to hear your side of all of this. My private number is 555-555-1212.

Fox

PS. You were brilliant, we have that device you created and I hear you must be very smart to create something like that with the few low quality parts you had available.

I reread the email three times as I tried to think of what to write back. I also found myself memorizing the phone number, and imagining myself calling it.

One thing that stood out to me was that while Fox was reserving judgment, she was a bit angry about the scientists. At least I thought she was angry. That decided it for me, I had to write back to at least explain that. I'd been feeling safer knowing she was working on this too, and if she was still willing to help me I wanted help. I felt so out of my league trying to figure out if all of us clones were time stamped at creation.

I hit reply and started to write back.

Mama, I didn't fully lie about my health. Knowing the good Doctor like we do, Demona and I suspect there is a surprise that he never told anyone about. I live in fear that we're right, and I spend hours every night going over his notes trying to find a hint. I was 'educated' to be a lab assistant, which means that while I understand a lot of this, I don't understand it all. I study science with all my spare time.

I could send you a copy of all the records that I have, so you could understand why I'm so worried. Demona is working to help me, but someone hired the best scientists in the country already. You have the people she was going to get to help me. She told me this, and I was at least comforted to know they were already at work. Please, if you cannot forgive me try and make them work with her. I need help. I'm so tired of being afraid.

Lilith

I stared at my words and hit send. I felt a bit more desperate now, because even with everything else, I had never entertained the idea that her help would fully go away.

I found myself on my feet, pacing the room. I didn't even remember standing up. When I did notice what I was doing I growled a little at myself. I turned back to the computer to work, but I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to comprehend at this moment. My thoughts with filled with the emails.

I hit refresh on the email page expecting nothing. A new email with the topic "call me, Baby" surprised me. I opened it, but there was no message other than her phone number again.



Fox was still awake. I glanced at the clock and knew it was a bit late for a human. I started to wonder if she'd been waiting all this time for my reply. If she'd stayed up all night for me then I really should call her. I glanced at the stairs and strained to hear any sound from upstairs, but I couldn't hear anything.

The phone was in the kitchen. I glanced at that door, then I found myself just staring at it. I didn't have much night left, and I had little idea, even after all this time, how long a bath took Demona. I rubbed my eyeridge and ran my talons a little roughly through my hair as I considered this situation. Could I dare this? I had seen a phone used, I knew how to do it. But did I dare?

I walked into the kitchen quietly as I could, and picked up the phone. My hand was a little shaky as I pushed the buttons and held the phone to my head. I heard it ring just once.

"Hello." Her voice was immediate, as if she'd been holding the phone waiting for me.

"Hey Mama." I smiled a little weakly and my voice sounded nervous to my ears. My eyes and body turned to stare at the doorway I was terrified Demona would suddenly walk in from. I wasn't sure what she'd do, but I had to do this.

"Oh Baby, what have you gotten yourself into?" Fox sighed heavily.


	16. Chapter 16

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Bad Girl – section 36

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"If they hadn't kidnapped my clan leader," I muttered a bit faster to her question. "They'd already stolen the other clones, and then they just snatched her. I had to do something." I felt awkward defending myself, almost like I was saying, but he hit me first. My voice softened. "I had been living out of dumpsters and hiding for the day outside the city. I was lucky to find a restaurant dumpster the human's hadn't already raided during the day. She took me in and never asked for anything. She is teaching me to glide like her. She glides like an angel and she's teaching me." I was talking faster into the phone, talking closer to it too as I held it tight. "And she cooks for me too. And she bought me a computer to work on my research. I have a safe place in the day on her balcony and I don't have to be worried a human will smash me as I sleep." I sighed as I fought the urge to go on and on about this. "They took her, and I need her. I had to get her back."

"I was just saying that you ended up in the middle of a lot of trouble Lilith." Fox spoke more softly and I found my back relaxing a little. "But you don't need her. You have other options."

I'd heard the strain on the word need. "I like it here." I spoke softer. "She really is good to me, and maybe." My words trailed off. I took a deep breath. "I think she's flirted with me." I was pretty hopeful I wasn't misinterpreting that. "Even Goliath said a clan would be willing to give up their lesbian sisters if they thought there was a chance."

"She's been married before Lilith, to a male." Fox's voice grew softer, gentler. "And if she is flirting with you it could just be a way to keep you there. She latched onto Thailog rather quickly too you know." I grimaced at the comparison. I didn't want to think about that.

"And I was meant to be her replacement with him. She has no reason to like me, he made me behind her back." I sighed, not liking the feelings Fox's words filled me with. I really wanted Demona to be interested in me, and I didn't like hearing that Fox thought it was all a trick to keep me around. "And why would she want me around? I'm not a warrior, and other than the one trick I pulled getting her out of that place, I can't really DO anything. My science training is incomplete, I might be dying, what use would I be?"

"You are always thinking about that aren't you?" Fox asked, her words slow.

"Did you know that the night I woke up, the night I became conscious, was the same night I was told I was going to be a sex slave? And when I refused, when I told him I preferred females, it was that night the first attempt on my life happened?" My voice was a bit funny as my vocal chords got tight. "It wasn't long after that I woke up to see Quarrymen had smashed all the statues I'd been hiding near during the day, but had miraculously missed me." I took a deep breath. "After that I found that I was always near starving, because I couldn't find food. I've 

always been near death Fox. I got used to that, but this, I can't get used to this. My body could have a time bomb in it, and the more I think about what I was programmed with and what I learn about the doctor that created me, the more I believe that he would have done that." I sighed. "I live with an immortal, and I pray every day to see my first birthday. That's hard."

"Oh Lilith." Fox let out a breath of air. "I'll help you and if there is a problem we'll find a way around it. You'll see that birthday baby." There was a pause. "I just worry about more than just your health." It felt good to know she worried about me at all. "I understand the lure of a powerful man, or in your case female, but sometimes that can come back to bite you in the butt. You don't have the life experience necessary to deal with that if she does to you what she's done to the other people in her life."

"She won't." I protested quietly and wrapped my wings around my body tight as I tried to keep that idea out of my head.

"David is a dangerous and powerful man, and that was what attracted me to him Lilith, but I'm a rather dangerous woman. It took a bad girl to meet him halfway, and that was what I was, so there was no problems. You aren't a bad girl, you're rather innocent and sweet, in spite of your infiltration of the clan. You're regret shows that, and Demona is just as dangerous as my David, moreso in some ways. Even if she didn't want to hurt you, I'm not sure she could avoid it. You have too much of Angela's innocence to make this work. You clearly did inherit something from your other donor to remind me so much of your sister. She used to be desperate to believe the best in Demona too, but she was burned too many times. I don't want you burned baby."

My jaw clenched as my happiness at her concern changed to a bit of resentment at the comparison to other people. "I was designed to be dangerous Fox. Why would Thailog want a mate that wasn't? I chose not to be, but I was designed for betrayal. Demona has to realize I was also designed to betray her specifically. The programming went wrong, because I AM my own person too. Just because I haven't been alive long doesn't mean I'm too innocent."

"But you aren't a bad girl." Fox insisted, and I couldn't deny that. It had never bothered me before, but it bothered me now. "You aren't like me, you're more like Goliath in this way. You rushed to protect her and your loyalty might get you just as burned as it did him."

"I'm nothing like that male!" My voice rose a little.

"I'm not so sure about that." Fox sighed. "But regardless, I want you to know that I will work on a cure if one is needed, and I want you to come to me if you ever feel unsafe in your safe place."

"I'm not like him. He bulldozes ahead without thinking about what he's doing, and I'm not like that." I protested with some tears in my eyes. "I think." I wanted my mama at least to see me as an individual. It was bad enough she thought I wasn't strong enough for the only female I was interested in, she compared me to my least favorite donor.



"I know you do, and you let your thoughts torture you." Fox spoke softly, slowly. "Baby, are you crying?"

"No, course not." I muttered, but I cringed at my voice cracking. I sure wasn't much of a bad girl if I burst into tears like this. I had never thought of being with Demona in this way and I didn't like it. I wasn't strong enough for her. "I've got to go." I spoke quickly and hung up. I stared at the phone and then turned to walk to the door. I wiped at the tears on my face as I used the other hand to open the back door and I stepped outside.

I didn't need Demona to see me crying and asking why.

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Prompt: Pine – section 37

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Demona's hair was wet and was combed back from her face. I found myself staring for a moment, before I focused back on my computer. "You know, my tub is large enough for even your wingspan. I find the feel of warm water running over my wings nice, maybe you'd like to try it even though you don't need it."

My mind traveled to my one memory of her standing in the large pool of water, with water beading on her skin, and I blushed. I looked away as a moment later my heart ached. Did Demona think I wasn't strong enough for her too? "No thanks." I muttered and tried to focus on my web search.

"You know, Lilith, sometimes we do things just to make ourselves feel good. You could use a little of that." Demona spoke softly and I felt trapped. Her hands moved to rest on my shoulders gently and I ached too much for that touch, but it was torture too.

"Maybe some people have all the time in the world to relax, but I don't have that." My voice was bitter, and I didn't bother turning to look at her. It hurt to be near her, and I just needed her to leave me alone today. Maybe tomorrow it would be a little better, but today I just wanted to be alone.

She was such an amazing female, and I wanted her more than ever. If she wanted me wouldn't she have done something more by now? Fox was right, Demona had gone after Thailog rather quickly and I wasn't getting anywhere. It was probably all in my head. I wanted to see it, so I made it up and misinterpreted normal clan leader concern into something special.

"What do you mean?" Her hands came off of me and her voice wasn't nearly as soft. I couldn't look at her and do this. I stared at the computer screen.



"You have forever to do whatever you want. I don't. I have to work, and rescuing you took a lot of my time. I need to get back to this." I muttered and could hear her wings cut through the air as she pushed them out. I could see that in the reflection in my monitor.

I wanted to remind her that I'd been strong enough to rescue her. I wanted her to see how hard I worked. I wanted to be respected, an equal, I just knew I never would be. I knew I wasn't an alpha female, I wasn't prone to deluding myself about that. The silence after my words told me I'd made a mistake. I could feel her anger in the air.

"I see." Demona's voice was frosty. "I don't mean to be a bother to you." She was mad. I cringed at the coldness in her voice.

A strong person would still work, wouldn't turn to face Demona, eager for forgiveness. I clenched my fists and tried to be stronger. I may hate Thailog, but I couldn't deny he was very strong. She'd wanted that before, and he would have ignored this. He would have stayed focused on his own concerns.

I hope he's dead, I thought bitterly. The silence was tense, and then there was a swoosh of air as Demona left me alone. I slumped forward on my desk and let out a shaky breath.

The night seemed to last forever, even though it had almost been dawn when I'd called Fox. I was grateful when it was time to go out onto the balcony, but the way Demona turned away from me as I walked through her bedroom upset my stomach.

I stared back into her room from my spot on the balcony and could see she was still ignoring me. I turned to face the sun and moved my legs further apart. I lifted my hands and growled at the rising sun, striking as fierce a pose as I could, knowing she'd see it.

I felt like a pretender as the stone sleep hit me, felt like a pure imposter, as I pretended to be protecting this place in my stone sleep, knowing I was too weak to follow up the threat of my pose.

The next evening after I woke up and was aware enough to pay attention I tried to roar better than I naturally do. It turned out to be a wasted effort, because when I turned to enter the house, she wasn't in her room.

I felt nervous at this, because it reminded me of when she went missing. It was all I could do to not yell out her name. I did look in every door on my way down the hall and toward the kitchen. The smell of dinner made me relax and I sighed with relief, knowing she had to be here if it was cooking.

I slipped into the kitchen, my eyes moving quickly to try and find her. When I did I wished I could just back right out the door again. She was sitting at the kitchen table staring at me so intensely. The dinner I'd smelled was on the table, but the look on her face made me wonder if I was welcome in the room at all.



"Eat up, after dinner you're going to prove yourself in the air." Demona stared at me and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach that had me losing my appetite.

"I'm not," I started to protest, but my words trailed off. I took a deep breath and forced myself to continue. "I'm not a warrior."

"And I'm not challenging you, not in that way." Demona's eyes softened a bit and I started to relax. "You can't challenge me for clan leader. You'd never win that battle Lilith. I'm just training you."

I was feeling two inches tall. My shoulders slumped as I stared down at the dinner she'd made me. I didn't understand what I was doing, or why I'd ignored her so much last night, except that it hurt. But this hurt too, so I lashed my tail behind me and caped my wings tight to my body. I was considered a non-threat. She knew I wasn't ever going to be an equal.

I sat down at the table and slowly ate, without saying much of anything. I did notice her concerned look briefly. I watched her and the way she even ate gracefully. Her talon's controlled the human tools for eating easily, and her red lips closed over the end of it slowly and so perfectly. I blinked and stared down at my plate as my blush grew, the image of her licking her lips just a little burned into my mind.

I could pine after her for the rest of my life, but this wasn't getting me anywhere. I took a deep breath and sat up a little straighter. I needed to be strong, stronger. I had to be, because I wanted her. Goliath could spend his time with the humans, I wanted a gargoyle. I wanted this gargoyle.

God I wanted her, I thought as I gripped the fork so hard I found it bent, it did more than bend, it crumpled. She reached over and opened my hand slowly, gently. The lump of metal that had been a fork fell to the table, but I could barely breathe as she caressed my hand. "I know something is bothering you." Demona's touch was making my hand shake, embarrassingly. I felt my heart beating faster and my jaw dropped open just a bit.

It took a lot of work to not whimper as her talon's traced my wrist, before Demona let go of my hand. "You can talk to me."

Can I? I thought to myself. Could I really? I wanted to know if she had any interest in me, I wanted to know if she thought I was strong enough for her. I watched her bring me another fork, and I wondered at her constantly playing host to me. Was it because she wanted me here? Did she want more, or was she just playing to my attraction to keep from being alone. I know what Fox would say, but was mama right?

"Talk to me Lilith." Demona spoke again and I looked at her, surprised that I thought she seemed a bit desperate.

"I just," I muttered and then went quiet. Demona's hand moved to rest over mine, the new fork to the side of both our hands. "Am I the only one?" I asked, and almost grimaced at the whine in my voice.

"Are you the only what?" Demona spoke and I risked looking up into her face. I felt like backing out, but I couldn't now.

"Goliath told me that your clan used to think you were gay, like me, but then, well," I felt like I was rambling and I blushed at the less than smoothly asked question as I watched her. "You mated with him." Those last words hurt, still it hurt more to think she'd also mated with Thailog. I pushed those thoughts as far as I could while I watched her expression.

Demona tilted her head just a little to the left and looked past my shoulder to the wall. I had the impression she could actually see the past playing out in front of her face from the far off expression in her eyes. When her mouth opened to speak I wasn't sure I wanted to hear what she had to say. "I know there was talk about me, but I'm surprised he shared that. He must have been really reaching out to you Lilith."

I didn't bother responding and she wasn't quite looking at me. I watched her look down just a bit, not looking at the floor, but at some point off in the distance in her mind. I didn't get the impression she was seeing me, but she hadn't forgotten I was here. "I was a late bloomer, but I did develop an attraction to males, or at least one." I gritted my teeth and turned my head away just a bit. Her voice was softer. "I was attracted to females from the start, but I was the only one of our clan, so I cultivated my attraction to males. I knew what my life was likely to be, but it ended up that way anyhow. I spent the vast majority of my life alone, just as if I'd never mated. Worse even."

I looked up slowly and found her staring at me. "I haven't thought about females in that way for hundreds of years, but then you're the first female I've found that feels this way." Demona's expression was tender and my heart was caught between stalling and pounding because that look was aimed at me. "He made you to replace me, and it is a strange karma that made you what you are."

I swallowed hard and her hand moved to cover my own on the table.

"So no, Lilith. You aren't the only one. I won't promise that we aren't the only ones, but there is me." Demona's hand was warm and I stared at it, feeling stunned and hopeful. Maybe my not being alpha wouldn't be enough to ruin this, if I was all there was, maybe I could make this work. It sure sounded like I wasn't going to have to pine after her for the rest of my life.


	17. Chapter 17

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Vertigo – section 38

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I didn't know what to say in response to the hope she'd given me, and as the silence stretched on I felt more and more idiotic that I couldn't find something clever to say. "I'm glad." I spoke quietly, finally. The words making me blush.

"What, that you aren't the only female interested in females?" Demona leaned back in her chair, smirking just a little.

"Well, that's nice too." I admitted, but I was more glad that it had been her that was like me. It would have been a nightmare if it had been Angela, and while humans had millions of lesbians, I was also glad I wasn't going to have to try and meet one of them. Humans tend to run from me.

And Demona was beautiful, smart, powerful, yes, I was glad. I had a chance.

"Well, what else are you 'glad' about?" Demona asked, and I looked over at her to see I had her full attention.

I wasn't sure if it was too soon, but I blushed and looked down at the partly eaten dinner she'd made me. "I'm glad that it's you." I risked looking up, through my shaggy white hair, at her. "I mean, I know I've only met two other females, but," I felt horribly nervous. "I like you." She smiled slowly, happily, and I felt like I couldn't breathe, like I was dizzy with vertigo. She really was beautiful. It took a lot of effort to not just stare at her.

"I like you too Lilith." Demona spoke softly, but then she sat back in her chair. I didn't speak, because I had no clue what to say, and she wasn't speaking either. "Finish your dinner, we still have training." She spoke and I felt a bit disoriented by the way she was able to just switch topics like this. I couldn't get my mind past the fact she was partly lesbian. I was also starting to wonder if it was the larger part. It would be better for me if it were. "I said eat Lilith. I don't want you to backslide. You finally don't look like you're starving." I jerked my eyes to her, self conscious and embarrassed, but she was smiling gently at me. I nodded and worked the fork carefully into the food on my plate.

An hour later I found myself humbled, humbled hard, as I tried to catch her. She'd decided I needed to know how to chase people in the air so I could avoid people better by knowing what they might try. The idea was that if I knew how to chase I'd know how to avoid. The reality was that I felt like I was just learning to glide as she darted up and down, she even did a corkscrew around me that had me trying to fly upside down so she couldn't hit me in the back, and I ended up corkscrewing with her clumsily. She moved around me so effortlessly, but a bout of vertigo had me angling down at one point when I wanted to go up. I was left to just gape at 

her as she appeared to be just fine. No one could catch her. It must have taken the entire clan to do it the last time, because no one was a better glider than her.

"I think that's enough." She spoke and I let out a relieved breath. I was sweaty, tired, and sore. She looked as fresh as she did when we started. I was impressed and a bit disgusted.

I landed on her balcony with a thump and watched the amused look on her face as she landed gracefully. "Want a bath now?" Demona teased. "It's good for sore muscles."

"Did you do this just to make me bathe?" I stared at her with wide eyes, thinking of the hours I'd been in the air.

"No, you did need training. I pushed you because you have to build up your endurance." Demona spoke, but there was something in her eyes that said making me dirty and sweaty was a secondary goal. "Why don't you go grab something to drink and I'll start the water for you."

I guess I was taking a bath, I thought with some discomfort. I didn't need to bath if I waited for sunrise, but I just nodded. She smiled a little triumphantly and turned toward her bathroom.

Demona was a tricky one, I thought as I moved slowly, walking downstairs for a drink. I felt like I could consume the entire pitcher of juice, if I wasn't too tired to lift it too my mouth.

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Prompt – Glory: section 39

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The room smelled like lilacs, and the smell was soothing. I took a hesitant step into the bathroom to see Demona turning the waterfall of water into the tub off. It sure filled fast, I noticed for the first time. I'd never seen it filling with water before.

Demona grinned at me, and even though I was reluctant to do this, I felt a bit better about agreeing. It seemed to make her happy. "If it's too hot you can add some cold water." Demona spoke and I slowly nodded as I stared at the large tub. My arms were crossed in front of me and I caped my wings tight to my body as I stared at the still swirling water.

I knew she was naked when she was in the water, so that was probably what I should be doing. I looked around the room, taking in the bottles on the counter again. As I thought about it, I realized that I'd never fully taken my clothes off before. Why would I need to? I had put them on right after becoming conscious, becoming alive, and they'd stayed there, unless something truly disgusting spilled on my clothes early in the night. That used to happen when I ate from dumpsters, but not anymore.

Normal gargoyles, ones that did turn to stone, didn't need to clean their clothes either. Really, unless we had sex, we didn't need to be naked. Up until now Angela was the only one of us near being able to have sex, well unless I added Broadway to the thought, but that was disturbing. I 

didn't want to think about Broadway in all his glory. Thinking about Angela like that wasn't as disturbing, but not interesting.

Demona had been naked in that same tub not that long ago. That thought was interesting and had me blushing. I sighed and nibbled on my lip, wondering if I was supposed to undress with her here. She wasn't leaving.

"Oh for goodness sake. None of my clan sisters were as shy either." Demona grumbled and I looked over to see her staring at me. "I'll just step out so you can get out of your clothes. When you get into the tub be careful, the floor of it is fragile and I don't want your talons to scratch it. And if you aren't careful you can slip and you can't grip with your talons, or you'll crack it." She started to move to the door. I wondered if she'd found that out the hard way, if she'd destroyed a tub before. 

"Thank you." I spoke softly.

"I know you aren't sure about this, but this is one thing I really don't regret learning." Demona spoke more softly in reply. "You'll like this Lilith. It's why I let the human workers into my home to remodel this bathroom, and put up with their speculative looks at it being so large. It really feels good."

I was a bit surprised she'd allowed humans in this place at one time. I was at a loss for a reply, but she was closing the bathroom door.

After a moment I pushed my wings back with a sigh and stared at the water as I started to remove my clothes. The movement in the mirror caught my attention and I watched as the fog edged glass revealed more of me than I'd seen before, as I finished lowering my outfit off my legs. I stood and took a slow step toward it. The reflection caught me from my knee spurs to the top of my head.

I stared at myself a moment, wondering if she'd think I was beautiful. I knew that Thailog had done what he could to ensure I would be, but would a female like what she sees in me? I stared at my body in all its glory for a moment, before sighing quietly and moving to turn to the tub again. I was okay, healthier than I had been.

Get in without falling or hurting the tub. I took a step closer and carefully put my leg over the edge of the tub. The warmth was a surprise and I stopped for a moment with my leg partly submerged. I moved more slowly, carefully and set my foot down, and then my other. As I moved to slowly sit in the warm water, I found bits and pieces of me more surprised than others to be so very warm. It felt nice. The soap on the water, the bubbles smelled so good.

I managed to get in without destroying her tub. I smiled, and shifted a little and that's when I felt it. The feel of water on my wings had my eyes widening in shock. It seemed to caress ever inch of the submerged part of my wings. With this tub it did come up to my shoulders. I lowered my wings and moved them just a little. The swirl of water moved over them and I felt shivers, it felt so nice.

Demona should have told me sooner, I thought as I slowly moved my wings, which were still sore from our workout, back and then forward. This was heaven. I groaned happily and moved to put my arms over the edge of the tub so that I could have more room for my wings. I ducked down a bit and ignored other parts of my body, as I focused on the feeling of a water caress over every inch of my wings.

I closed my eyes and relaxed, shifting just enough to keep the caressing waves moving. The sound of the bubbles popping between me and the tub came with a slippery sensation and the smell was quickly becoming my favorite. Demona often smelled of this. I inhaled deeply and found the all over body relaxation changing to a bit of tension down lower.

The soft squeak and a small breeze of cool air alerted me that something had changed. I lazily opened my eyes to look forward, since I was facing the door. Demona smiled so smugly at me as she leaned on the doorway and crossed her arms. "See, I told you it was nice." She teased with a sexy voice and I felt a flush come to my face as I studied the lean of her body, which seemed so seductive.

"It is." I agreed with a small movement of my wings to get the water caress going again. I was naked in the tub, but I was so relaxed that it only briefly crossed my mind as she stepped into the bathroom. "This feels glorious." I moaned just a little as I said that, and her footsteps faltered for just a moment, before she continued to walk to the side of the tub. I did move my wings to cover my butt in the water in case the bubbles didn't.

She moved her talon closer and moved a stray white lock of my hair off my face and tucked it behind my ear. "So now, if I tell you that you need to experience something?"

"I'll listen." I grinned a little guiltily. I can't believe I fought this.

"You sound like you almost fell asleep." Demona spoke softly and caressed my hair. I blinked at that thought. I don't sleep often, the stone sleep usually takes care of all my needs. I did feel amazingly relaxed though.

"This feels good." I spoke and when her talon's wrapped through my hair it felt even better.

"Good." Her voice was closer, quieter. I opened my eyes again to see her face near mine. She stared into my eyes a moment and then she got closer. My heart, which had been doing a lazy dance, started to speed up a bit as her lips touched mine. It was soft and slow, but far too soon she pulled back. "Make sure you remember that promise." Demona smiled softly. "And don't fall asleep in the water, drowning isn't relaxing." Demona moved back and I licked my lips slowly as I stared at her. She kissed me. I started to smile and she ran her hands through my hair one more time. "I'll come back to warn you about sunrise. You enjoy." Demona started to walk away and I watched the extra sway of her hips. I was so tired, but she looked amazing.

"Thank you." I called after her and she turned halfway to smile at me again.



"You have a cute butt Lilith." Her grin was mischievous and I blushed as I realized my wings had moved when she kissed me.

The door closed with her on the outside. "She kissed me." I whispered to myself and smiled. I was on my way to having a mate.


	18. Chapter 18

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt – Apothesis: section 40_ (one definition:_ A dressing room connected with a public bath.)

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"Wake up." Her voice called out and even though I wasn't asleep, I felt just moments away from it. I opened my eyes and looked up at her. She stood at the open doorway again. "You have maybe five minutes to sunrise."

I almost stood up immediately, but then I paused. She was still standing there. I took a deep breath, and remembering how she just stood up in front of me, decided to push my embarrassment aside. She spoke before I managed though. "This isn't a bath house, and there isn't an apothesis here."

My eyebrows drew together at the unfamiliar word. I concentrated on it, to see if my programming could fill in the blank, but I had nothing.

"Showing my age I guess." Demona folded her arms in front of herself and I didn't move to stand as I watched her. "Before every human home had a bathroom, they had public baths. I just meant there is not dressing room here."

"I see." I spoke slowly and shook my head in a bit of lingering confusion. I pushed the confusion away and stood up. I felt like looking away, but I watched Demona out of the corner of my eye and felt a bit more confident when I noticed her eyes travelling over me. Her small hint of a smile and hint of a blush had my own blush growing.

"I stole you're clothes." She told me and my eyes darted to the place I'd left them. My wings tightened around my body, hiding some things from sight at least, as I stared at the clothes just as I'd left them on the chair.

I turned to stare at her and her amusement and the teasing glint in her eyes turned my embarrassment and hint of confusion into something else. I nibbled on my lower lip and hugged my wings tight to my chest as I took the step out of the tub carefully. My talons clicked on the tile of the bathroom floor. "Looking at you, I think I will take them so you turn to stone naked." Demona's eyes travelled over my body again and I felt my tiredness lifting with the promise in her eyes.

"I really don't like that idea." I spoke somewhat calmly at the teasing as I dripped water on the floor as I made my way to the chair. I could see her reflected in the mirror even as she was behind me and I felt attractive just because of how she was looking at me. Still, I didn't feel adventurous too, so I took my clothes in my arms and moved toward the doorway with them, 

rather than change in front of her. My wings were hiding as much as I could manage, but I knew I was still showing things I didn't really feel comfortable with just yet.

Maybe soon, but not just yet, part of my mind filled in as I exited the bathroom and used my tail to close the door, with Demona still inside. "Stay!" I ordered quickly and flared my wings out while quickly unfolding my clothes.

I could hear laughing from the bathroom as I practically jumped into my outfit.

I heard the bathroom door open as I was quickly moving into Demona's bedroom and heading for the balcony I spent my days on. "Lilith, you left puddles on my bathroom floor." Demona was teasing, I could tell by the near laughing and I wished I had time to tease back, but I just glanced at her as she came into view, before stepping fully outside just in time for the sunrise.

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Prompt: Annoying– section 41

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It had been three days since my first kiss. Demona was smiling at me more, but she pushed me just as hard if not harder in our training. All that had changed so far was that I got a kiss for performing well in the air now after training. I found myself nearly working myself to death for that kiss, but was frustrating. I wanted more, but my schedule of studying couldn't be interrupted, and my hours of night were unchangeable. I nearly had a mate, and I could kill that doctor that put this fear for my life in my head for making it hard to take the nearly and make it a firm reality.

My schedule was irritating me and making me a bit grumpy, but what was annoying me today was my programming. I sighed as I typed on my computer my latest to do list for Demona, writing down books, research I needed, before I could make any more progress in understanding the files left about creating clones. I tried to fantasize about Demona, but my programming left me confused and lost.

I knew several ways to have sex with a male, and sadly and disgustingly, those hidden programs were fully awakened now. I'd had several short moments of lost time that ruined my fantasies as I tried to grasp what to do with a female. I'd be thinking about kissing her, which I'd done and could visualize well, when I'd want to imagine we'd had the time and I had the courage to do more. That's when my programming would give me flashes of images that made me want to scrub my brain out.

I knew a lot about what to do with a male, and I knew that Thailog was rather perverted and wanted to do things to me that made me little more than a sex slave. If I tried to imagine being with Demona my mind started to make her male so I could know what to do, but then I wasn't as interested.



What do females do together? I sighed heavily as I printed out Demona's to do list and then closed the program I'd been working on. I couldn't work anymore tonight, I needed those books. I glanced at the clock and I still had time before sunrise.

Fox wouldn't know, and I hadn't really talked to her in a while. Demona and I were the only lesbian gargoyles, there wasn't anyone to ask if I didn't ask her, and I didn't want to tell her I was having trouble fantasizing about her. That was too embarrassing to even consider.

My talon's clicked impatiently on the table as I thought. Human's had lesbians by the millions. I grimaced as I considered the unfairness of it all. They would have people to ask.

My talon's stopped moving as my eyes widened in realization. Human's would have books and websites too. I blinked as I stared at my computer, and I blushed as I looked around and listened hard to make sure Demona was busy somewhere else. "I can't believe I'm doing this." I whispered as I grabbed the mouse on the computer and opened up a search engine. I'd considered humans as a last resort, so I knew they were somewhat compatible with us even without wings and tails.

I typed in the word lesbian and the computer stunned me by having over a 100 million results. "Oh my god." There was information out there. Lots, too much really. I felt even more annoyed at the humans for that, but I started to browse the links on the first page for something appropriate.

I was so nervous that I'd be caught doing this, but I found pictures to help me write over my own programming with what lesbian sex was supposed to be. Some of it still didn't make any sense, and I found humans looked a bit more attractive than I'd imagined, but now my mind could fill in the blanks and I felt fidgety and aroused thinking of doing these things with Demona.

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Prompt: conquer – section 42

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I dove hard, a steely glint in my eyes as I followed her down toward the ground. She turned sharply, so sharply it seemed impossible, but I gritted my teeth and turned as tightly as I could, still following her. She was getting further away and I felt defeat chasing me, even as I chased her.

I was supposed to catch her, and the reward wasn't really explicitly said, but the seductive smirk she'd given me made me want that reward very badly.

She pulled up and I yelled out as I abused my own wings to be able to follow. I reached out as her tail waved in front of my face, grabbing at it, but it was just out of reach. I was almost close enough to touch her, and I'd never managed even this much before.



I saw her hips move just a bit to the right and I started to turn before her wings followed suit, it was just a feeling, an instinct, and I found myself ramming into her back as she turned into my new path. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled my wings tighter to my own body to avoid a painful gash in them from her talons, on accident, as we started to fall.

Her skin was warm, and I held on as I spread my wings, her own were partly caught by my arms. I stopped our fall and was still clinging to her. "I caught you." My voice was stunned, shocked really.

"Yes, and you could let go." Demona sounded a bit irritated, but I just hugged her body to me tighter as I pulled us up higher into the air. I caught her. I couldn't let go, or I wouldn't believe I'd done it.

We'd been training hard for a while, and while I knew I was getting better, this was just amazing. Her body started to struggle just a little and I adjusted my grip to try and hold her better, but I didn't want to let go. "I caught you." I repeated, a smile starting to grow on my face as I started to really believe it myself.

"Well, it looks like it's time to go to the next step with you." Demona pushed a bit against me, and I reluctantly let her go this time. She fell a few feet and then glided up to match my path. Demona's expression was making me feel proud, but as it changed my feelings became more apprehensive. "We'll start adding in the obstacle course. I stayed out in the open here, but in a real battle you should use your environment." My heart sunk as I saw that I'd just graduated to more involved torture.

"Good work." Demona spoke softly and she moved to glide so tightly over me that my wings would have hit her if I didn't roll in the air. She stared down at me as I glided upside down and leaned down to kiss me quickly. "You're turning down, stay at this level." Demona spoke softly and kissed me again.

I fell with a groan of need, I ached for her and my concentration was just destroyed. My wings stopped working and I fell about a foot before her arms wrapped around me, pulling me tight to her body. I gasped at the feel of her holding me so tightly, my wings hanging uselessly from my back.

Her mouth closed over my neck and I gasped, my talons gripping her arms tightly. Her fangs sunk into my skin, but didn't break it. "Oh God!" I arched my hips toward her. "Oh God." I cried out as she scraped her fangs over my neck. "Demona!" I screamed out as my whole body shook. "Oh God, Master please." My mouth was open as I gasped; the feelings going through me startled me.

She stopped and I found her staring into my eyes with a stunned expression, which gave me a sinking feeling.



"Master?" Demona spoke as she let me go and I struggled to regain my ability to glide. Oh shit, what did I say? My eyes teared up as I imagined how my programming was screwing with my life now.

I turned my head away from her and started to glide away, but her arm was as strong as steel as she grabbed my arm, forcing me to stay close. "Lilith? Master?" Demona spoke again and I felt like I wanted to be invisible. Everything was going so well, I had never imagined feeling so much, and now it was ruined.

"I'm sorry." I managed to say through my tight throat, but I still couldn't look at her. "My programming." I barely explained.

"He programmed you to call him Master?" Demona's grip on me tightened a bit too much and I winced. She loosened her hold. "And you call out for him when we," Her words trailed off and I wanted to just crash into the ground to get out of this conversation.

"I'm sorry." My heart was breaking as I considered that this was too much, and she'd forget about me now. She'd just chalk it up to a big mistake and give up on considering me for her mate.

"Look at me." Demona's voice was demanding and we were still gliding, but I didn't know or care where. I looked up and her red glowing eyes made me fear that I'd lose my place in her clan as well tonight. "If I hadn't already killed him, I would hunt him down and kill him now." She spoke firmly, each word harsh and clear. "I had no idea how far his plans for you had gone, but this is unforgiveable. You are no one's slave, you shouldn't call anyone Master. You are a gargoyle and we have no Masters."

"Landing." Demona spoke softly and I turned to see her yard right in front of me. I shifted my legs under me, but I was still trying to understand that she was mad, but not at me. Once we'd gained our footing on ground Demona stood in front of me, still holding my arm, but now she had my other arm in her grip as well. "I'm your clan leader, not your Master." Demona spoke softly, and I knew this. This wasn't news to me, but she seemed to want to be very clear. She pulled me close and held me. "We'll conquer this."

"I'm not his." I told her, wanting her to see it wasn't that bad. "I would have slept with him if I was his, it was just an accident." I found her staring into my eyes again. I wanted her to believe that, even if I didn't quite feel the ring of truth in it.

"It was a programmed response to desire." Demona spoke and I blushed. "But it was desire for me, so I know you aren't his." Demona caressed my hair, pushing it out of my eyes and I leaned into her cupped hand with my cheek. "Let's try that again." Demona leaned in and her mouth on my neck made me gasp.

I fought saying any words at all, afraid of what might come out, but when she scraped her teeth over the tendon in my neck I whimpered. "Please." I leaned up, as if to make her bite me, but she didn't break skin even when my body seemed to be trying to make her do it. Her hands let 

go of my elbows and she started to caress my back. Her hands found their way to the base of my wings and I found my legs too weak to hold me. "Oh Demona."

"Yes Lilith." Demona growled into my ear and I clenched deep inside.

"I caught you." I spoke quietly. She'd promised a really good reward for that. I wanted it, oh God I wanted it.

She growled low and deep right next to my ear and I lashed my tail around as she held me to her. "So you did." Demona ran her hand between my wings along my back and I froze as my body started to throb.

"Demona?" My voice was high pitched and nervous sounding, and I started to moan as she caressed my back while biting at my neck. I tried to get my feet to back away, this was too intense. I was scared, I didn't understand why I couldn't even think, why my body ached so badly. What would I do if I lost control? What would my programming do? She'd be upset if I called her Master again.

"Don't be afraid." Demona whispered into my ear. "Remember, you told me you'd listen if I said you needed to experience something. You'll like this." She was lowering me to the ground and the cool blades of grass caressed my legs as I found myself spreading them to give her a place to be. "You'll like this." Demona told me while staring down at me from her place hovering over me.

"Demona?" I tried to keep my eyes opened, but when her hands caressed my breasts over my clothes I arched my back and my eyes closed tightly. My foot talons were ripping up her grass, but I couldn't care less.

My research didn't prepare me in any way for this. I was gasping as she leaned down to kiss me. Even her kisses were nothing like the pictures I'd seen, they were intense, demanding, and didn't once consist of her just pushing her tongue into me while her lips weren't touching mine. This made more sense and I moaned into her mouth.

Our fangs clashed and I bleed, but we didn't stop. My hands caressed her sides, and I loved that her clothes left so much skin out where I could touch it. "Demona." I whimpered for her, wondering how she just knew what to do, when I was the first female she'd been with too, but she did.

Her touches slowed and she stared down at me. "See, that programming can be conquered." Demona smiled just a little and I blushed. I blushed harder as she just stared at me with that smile on her lips. Her cut was healing quickly, but I still tasted blood on my own lips. "As for kissing, gargoyles don't normally do that unless it's carefully."

"I like it." I protested.



"Bleeding?" Demona leaned on one arm and caressed my face, before running a talon over my abused lip with a small frown.

"Yes." I spoke softly and she stared into my eyes until I wanted to look away. The sting of pain wasn't bad, not at all really. It felt a little nice actually. Her eyes were penetrating and I felt exposed by them. She frowned just a little, but then just sighed.

"That which we cannot conquer ..." Demona whispered and leaned down to kiss me hard, splitting my lip just a bit more. The sting of it had me gripping her arms tightly. She pulled back and stared at me. I didn't understand her words, but she caressed my lip gently, and her eyes were painfully intense.

Her arms were so strong as she moved to hold mine down, her wings flared behind her and the moon made her look like a powerful goddess. I stared up at her in awe. She was kneeling between my legs, and she moved her thighs against mine, holding me open. I felt trapped, captured, and I loved it.

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	19. Chapter 19

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Mayhem – section 43

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My wing talons clawed at the ground under me as Demona pushed my thighs even higher, opening me obscenely with the push of her own body. My entire body was shaking. "Oh Sister, I've dreamed of something like this for too many years to count." Demona whispered as her hands moved to the neck of my clothes.

Her talon's started to rip into the fabric, pulling the one piece from my body to do this. It was my only clothes, I had nothing else. I didn't object as she destroyed it.

My mind struggled with the research I'd done on lesbians, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do now as she ripped my clothes down far enough to put her hands on my bare breasts. I could hear her sigh as she touched me, as if she'd finally come home and I stared up into intense eyes as she caressed me. "Demona." I murmured, loving the feeling, but still struggling to catch up.

"Lilith." Demona's voice was a little breathless, which was reassuring. "Oh this feels nice." She seemed to be talking to herself. I had to agree. She caressed me with both hands, one on each breast and I swore she looked like she was amazed to be doing it. She stared at her hands, at my breasts, and I knew my chest was rising and falling fast, because I was having trouble breathing enough.

I stared at her as she stared at my breasts and I felt my heart flutter. There was a tenderness, an amazement, in her eyes. For me, it was for me. I had never seen that in the research, and I'd never expected that from my programming. She was amazing, she was a goddess in the air, and she wasn't using me like I'd expected. She wanted this in a way I hadn't thought to hope for, I didn't understand it, but I could tell this was more. "Demona?" My voice was weak and unsure.

"Lilith." Her smile was wicked and her hands move off of my breasts, grabbing the ruins of the top half of my outfit. She leaned down as I felt the tugging and heard the ripping. A piece of my black clothes were tossed away from me and I only saw that out of the corner of my eye. My focus was on her head leaning down over my chest, my eyes were wide as she did that.

The warmth of her mouth had me gasping loudly. "M…" I cut my word off as fast as I could, but I felt her pause. "Demona." I pleaded. Her mouth on my breast was heaven, and I froze, afraid that it would stop. She nuzzled into me, suckled, and I my wings fluttered uncontrollable, my tail lashed as much as it could trapped by my body and hers.

"I'm going to mate you Lilith." Demona growled into my chest as she pulled back. "I'm going to mate you hard."

I felt my insides clench and I cried out. My body was wild, out of my control. "Please, oh God Please." I arched against her, feeling her thigh move between my legs, her knee spur strangly absent. I couldn't see what angle she had her leg in order to protect me from that, and my internet research was with humans. I wanted to know, but when her lips descended on my other breast I forgot my curiosity.

She rubbed her thigh against me and I let out a roar as I pushed my body into that friction. Her cat like roar met mine as in my thrashing my leg came up between her own. Once I realized what I was doing I bent my knee hard, to keep my knee spur off of her. The feel of her skin answered a question I had; she didn't wear anything under her loincloth.

I heard more ripping even while she was doing so much else to me and more pieces of black clothe were tossed from my body. I think that was the last coherent thought I was capable of, because her wing claws, capable of much more than my sole wing claw, moved to hold my wings down from the fluttering and she crawled down my body, forcing me to lower my leg. "I've always wanted to do this." She muttered into my stomach as she lowered even further.

The sky went red when her mouth touched me there. My eyes turning night to blood red and I screamed louder than I'd ever done before.

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It was later that I looked back at the yard and my eyes widened, even though I'd been a part of it all. The grass was pulled up in chunks, piles of dirt and grass, along with deep scars in the earth where our talons and spurs had ripped at it. My outfit in shreds and pieces surrounding the area, and her outfit, I glanced over at her with a bemused look, her outfit had moved out of my way so easily she was still dressed. I was naked as the day I was created and had no idea what I'd wear now. I glanced back at the destruction and mayhem we'd left.

"That's why I didn't want to try it in my bed. Human's make such flimsy things." Demona spoke and her hand caressed my shoulder. I looked at her, taking in the dirt and grass that coated both of us. "Let's see if we can be careful in my bathtub together." Demona's grin was wicked and my eyes widened. I was going to break that tub and then she'd be mad at me, I just knew it. Still I followed her inside.

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Prompt: Kindred – section 44

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I woke with a roar, my wings spreading wide as they were freed from stone. The breeze reminded me right away that I had no clothes and I pulled my wings tight to my body again.

"Damn, and I had to wait all day for them to move." Demona's voice was teasing and I turned to see her playfully leering at me from her doorway. "You cloaked your wings for the day. It really was rather unfair."

I blushed at the sexual teasing, feeling a bit more self conscious now, since I wasn't in the middle of being taken. My blush grew as my mind wandered back to the night before. She took me, really took me, and my tail lashed as the memory hit me.

"I wish I could say I'm sorry about ruining your outfit, but I never did like the more modern styles." Demona spoke and I looked up at her through my hair, which was partly in my face again. "I found you another one." Demona spoke softly and motioned for me to come inside. "Not that you have to put it on right away."

I stepped into the bedroom a bit hesitantly. On her bed lay a loincloth and halter much like hers. "I've had to repair and replace mine so often that I can make that style rather quickly now." Demona spoke and I took a step toward the laid out clothes, taking in that they were red, a rust color really. "I had tried once to change the color, but with my hair this just didn't look right, and red is my favorite color." Demona explained the existence of this outfit. When she looked in my eyes I felt like she was just open to me, more open than I'd ever seen her. "I never thought to ask yours."

"Green." I spoke quietly, but I picked up the clothes, taken in the suede like feel. "But this is beautiful."

Demona chuckled. "Green, I can see that. You're more an earth mother type."

"So is red the color of warriors?" I looked over at her, asking with a small hint of a smile.

She stepped closer and took the red loincloth from my hands. "I'll make you a green one, but it will take some time." She leaned in and kissed me. "Don't get dressed just yet." She spoke softly and I could hear the arousal in her voice. Just hearing it made my body start to shake.

Her teeth scraped at my neck and I groaned. When she stopped I instantly wanted her to continue, but she moved away from my neck and I saw her tilt her own neck. My jaw dropped when I realized she was allowing me to, but that was an alpha's thing. I stared at the tendon in her neck and then at her eyes, which were staring at me.

"He programmed you to be submissive. I'm more than willing to get you passed that." Demona wrapped a hand around me. Her voice was silk and sex. "But I will warn you, I tire of being submissive to a male, so I doubt I'll be submissive to you often."

"But you're clan leader." I tried to pull back, but she held me firm.

"And yet I'm not Master." Demona's voice darkened. "Try it Lilith. If there is anything you ever want to try, just try it." She spoke more softly. "Thailog preferred games I don't like playing, and I suspect that is why he programmed you the way he did. I am sorry you pay for my sexuality with him. I'm sorry that he gave you a taste for things I didn't…" Demona's words trailed off and I stared in shock as she looked away. Did her voice crack? I just stared, unsure what to do. "I'm not submissive, and while I tried with him, that isn't my preference."

"You don't need to be submissive to me, I'm not alpha enough to deserve that." I finally spoke, protested.

"And you don't need to be submissive because I am clan lead." Demona spoke and I just nodded once. My arousal was calmed by the talk, but I leaned forward just a little and it felt wrong, like I'd be beaten to a bloody stain if I dared it. I pulled back. I could tell it was programming, the same type of programming that had Delilah attacking me for being gay. It was insidious and I knew it was there, but I was afraid.

The phone started to ring and I felt Demona curse softly. She made no move to answer it she just stared into my eyes. "I will help you conquer this Lilith."

"I'm okay being what I am." I told her, knowing she didn't want to be or do what it would take to change this. The phone stopped ringing.

"That's only because you don't know how to be anything else." Demona told me and when the phone started another irritating string of ringing.

Demona's eyes burned red as she glanced at the phone, but she didn't pull away from me. She caressed my hair and her eyes softened. I nuzzled into her hand.

When the phone didn't stop ringing she growled and pulled away. I watched her grip the phone almost hard enough to crack it. "WHAT!" Demona yelled into the receiver. "IF you work for me, you'll need to pack up your…" Her words trailed off and the angry look in her eyes turned to surprise. Demona's eyes moved to me. "Fox." Her voice was flat.

I blinked in shock. Fox shouldn't know this number. What did she find something out? My eyes widened and I stared at Demona, who was watching me carefully while listening.

"Yes, she's here." Demona's red eyes faded and I took a hesitant step forward. "Is she?" Demona spoke quietly and her words trailed off. I took another hesitant step forward. "I am her clan leader, I deserve to know!"

Demona's eyes were red, but also concerned as she held the phone out for me. I hesitated to reach out. "I'm sorry that I'm," I spoke quietly to her, my voice cracking. "so temporary." I finished, sure of what I'd hear when Fox spoke.

"You don't know that." Demona, her hands empty of the phone, pulled me into her, she moved to hold me from behind. Her head near the phone as well.

"H-h-hi." I stuttered into the phone. It took some comfort from the arm, and then the wings, that surrounded me for this phone call.

"First off, I want to tell you that you appear to have nothing wrong with you." Fox spoke quickly and rather formally. I sagged a bit, leaning back into Demona in relief. "But the other 

clones are ill. We had the scientists check your blood for what is starting to show in the others, but the disease doesn't replicate in you."

I found my arm shaking as her words registered. There was something, and the others had it. "Why not me?" I paused just a moment and when Fox was silent I added. "Will they be okay?" Demona hugged me and I could tell she was listening in, in spite of how tightly I held the phone to my ear.

Fox sounded hesitant, not something I was used to hearing from her. "Well, you aren't fully gargoyle. It is progressing a little more slowly with Delilah, but the fully cloned from gargoyles males are progressing alarmingly fast. If we'd not been looking, we wouldn't have noticed it in enough time to even attempt a cure."

"There's a cure?" I asked hopefully.

"Not yet, but we are trying. Lilith, you're the only one that was immune." Fox's voice, her tone alone, said that was incredibly important. I knew enough about science to understand why. If a cure was to be found, it would be in me. "We could look at Delilah's blood and learn something, but what I passed on to you appears to be the key. What the doctor couldn't sift out of my genes, that's what is protecting you Baby."

"Oh mama." My voice cracked as I realized what it was. That wasn't likely to translate well to the others. This was a long shot at best, finding a cure. I missed this bullet by such a small margin, and it was Fox that helped me. Demona fidgeted in her hold of me, but she was still wrapped around me. I was so glad to not be alone right now.

"You need my blood don't you?" I asked after Fox had given me a moment of silence to absorb this.

"Even with it, there are no promises." Fox spoke and I knew, could tell, someone told her it wasn't anything but a longshot at this point. My mind went to Delilah, to my clan brothers, and my eyes teared up.

"I'm coming." I told her, my voice a pained whisper. The others needed me, and I couldn't abandon them. I understood the fear they lived with now, and even though I'd just found out that I was going to live, I couldn't forget the fear. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, and certainly not them.

"I'll tell the clan to give you free passage, that you're coming to help." Fox paused. "But Lilith, don't expect a welcome back party."

"I don't care." It hurt, but I had more important concerns. "I'll bring my research, maybe it will help."



"You know you don't have to do this Lilith." Demona spoke softly and I turned to stare into her eyes. "You're fine." Demona smiled at me just a little. "You don't have to worry anymore. I don't know what little miracle of genetics occurred, but you'll be fine."

"I have to do this." I stared her down and Demona's eyes dropped as she nodded.

"Then I'm going with you. I can't let you walk into the enemy camp alone." Demona hugged me and I focused on the phone.

"I'll be there in about two hours. I need to pack up my work." I told Fox and was ready to hang up.

"I'm sorry it wasn't good news all the way around Baby, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was relieved it was you that was going to be okay. I'd miss you Baby." Fox told me and I could hear the love in her voice. I really was the lucky one. Would any of the others mourn for their clone? I doubted it.

"Love you Mama. Thanks for saving me." I hung up and just stood there, feeling numb. The hand holding the phone fell to my thigh. Demona was caressing my shoulders and I turned into her as they started to shake.

"My kin are dying." I cried and buried my head into her shoulder as she murmured comfortingly at me and held me close.


	20. Chapter 20

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

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Prompt: Family Reunion – section 45

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Demona carried the box for me. I turned my head to watch her glide beside me silently for a moment. "Thank you." I spoke, and my voice was weak. She was coming with me, I didn't have to do it alone. I was grateful for that. As clan leader she was well within her right to forbid me to help, even though I wanted to. I hoped I could help.

She was with me, and if the clan thought they could capture her again, I would become a warrior to protect her. I turned to face the city again and sighed. Most likely I'd ask Fox to help, Fox was a warrior. I wouldn't be able to do much, unless it was gliding, I kind of wanted to see how I'd stand up to others. I did catch Demona alone after all.

I glanced across the river at the castle topped building and took a deep breath. My momentary fantasy fading as the weight of what I was doing hit me again. No one had ever counted on me before, and regardless of how the other clones felt, they were counting on me.

I hadn't even asked if they were finally let out of the tunnels. My fists clenched to think they'd lived their whole lives underground and only know, when they were dying, were they perhaps let out. If they were still underground I would be making demands.

We were rising up so that we'd be level with the tallest building in the city. "If things get tense, let me handle it." Demona spoke as we approached and I could see the small shapes that were gargoyles on the castle in the distance. "If things fall apart, take cover near Fox. That human seems to care about you."

I almost jerked in the air as I turned to stare at Demona after that comment. She didn't like humans, and I wasn't sure she'd approve of my relationship with my donor. Demona held my box of research tighter to her chest and sighed. "We're outnumbered in enemy territory. Alliances must be made."

"I'm sorry." I spoke softly. I knew this was hard for her, but I had to do this. I had to.

"It's your clan Lilith. I paid for the procedure, if I didn't want them alive I wouldn't have done that." Demona told me and I would have spoken with her more, but the wind picked up as we came near the large skyscraper and I could see the clan assembling near where we'd land. I felt sick, nervous, and resigned to my fate as I swung my feet forward and landed.

My arms were filled with my box quickly and I took it even though I didn't expect it. Demona stood, her arms free, beside me as the clan approached. My eyes trailed over white glowing 

eyes, then past Brooklyn to see Goliath had a clenched jaw. Angela was standing further back. I gave up looking at the unfriendly faces and looked around harder for my redheaded donor.

"Demona." Goliath's voice was cold and I sighed as quietly as I could. "Lilith." My name wasn't said any more friendly.

"Lilith." Fox's voice was welcome and I turned toward it. "Thank you for coming." She spoke as she walked toward us. I took in her walk and thought she was walking just a bit more firmly. It felt protective and I smiled just a little at her. Fox hugged me and I regretted that I was the one carrying my research now so I couldn't hug back, but Demona was the warrior and it did make sense that I carried the books and papers.

"Hey Mama." I spoke quietly to just her.

I heard something, a grunt of sorts, but Mama glared over my shoulder and the noise stopped. "Come in, I'm sure you're anxious to see what we've discovered."

"Are they here?" I asked, while looking around for even a single clone. I didn't see one. I was getting a bit pissed about it really.

"They are recovering from the testing." Fox told me while putting a hand on my arm.

I looked at her and I was afraid. "Are they hurting?" I asked, and did my best to not tear up. I felt another hand on my shoulder and glanced to the side to see Demona was resting her hand on my shoulder.

"Some, we're trying to help them with that." Fox told me and I hugged my research to my body as tightly as I could. Fox started to walk and I followed. I could hear the others shuffling around, but didn't look to see if they were following me too. I just knew Demona was there, I could almost sense her.

"Maybe my work," I lifted the box higher. "Maybe I found something that could help." My voice was weak, tired, and so young sounding. I hated that I was scared and it showed.

"Are we sure we want to let her near the others? For all we know this is all part of their plan." Brooklyn's voice was harsh and he only faked a whisper. He wanted us to hear. I turned to stare at him, shocked anyone would think I'd hurt my own clan.

"Lilith would never do that." Demona growled out in my defense. Fox moved beside me and put one hand around me in a half hug, while pulling me inside.

"There isn't enough room in the lab for everyone, perhaps you should stay out Brooklyn." Fox spoke firmly. It wasn't a suggestion and I felt a little impressed when my mostly human donor backed him away with just a look. Fox glanced behind us and I couldn't tell if she was irritated or not. Demona was back there. I turned to see Demona just nod at me and I felt somewhat reassured we were okay so far.

"Lilith." Angela spoke and I felt like groaning at the poor timing of the family reunion. I needed to talk with Angela, to explain, but I had no time.

"Have they isolated anything in my blood so far that might help?" I turned to Fox, who took the box out of my arms and handed it off to Owen, who I hadn't even seen appear.

"They haven't figured out how to do it just yet. They took samples of my blood too." Fox pushed a button and I suddenly noticed we were at an elevator. "My blood isn't really behaving itself, they can't get it to play well with others." The elevator opened up, and I stood there, tensely. It was so small inside.

"Um, could we take the stairs?" I asked, thinking how tight it would be inside that little box. Flashes of watery vision hit me and I took a step back from the small box. I shook my head. Was that a flashback to my chamber? Was it a pre-formed memory?

"It's several levels down." Fox told me and I still couldn't make myself get in the small box. "Delilah didn't like the elevator either." Fox spoke quieter.

"We can glide down the stairway." Demona spoke up with a sigh. "It'll take concentration Lilith, but you could do it."

"Really?" Angela sounded surprised. I looked up at her and felt a little bit of pride that Demona thought I could, because Angela clearly hadn't even considered doing something like that before.

"It's the fourteenth floor." Fox spoke while pointing to a door across from the opened elevator. "I'll see you there." Fox glanced around. "Any takers for the elevator?"

No one took Fox up on the offer and I found myself a bit nervous as I followed Demona down the stair shaft, but when I pulled up and followed her to land on the correct floor, she did smirk at me as Goliath missed it and had to hit the floor below. Her smirk was less amused when Angela missed too. "They don't even train." Demona muttered as we waited for them to make their way back up to the door. "I don't want you ever to have trouble with tight turns Lilith. It could mean your life." I could tell she was really not happy that Angela hadn't made it.

Fox let us in and I could smell antiseptic and other familiar scents I didn't really like as we walked down the hall toward the lab.

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Prompt: Noose – section 46

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We were in the middle of the hall when Fox stopped. She turned to look at me, and then the guards that were obviously here to make sure Demona and I behaved. Goliath and Angela, at least, didn't taunt me like Brooklyn seemed to want to. "Lilith, did you want to see the others first, or the scientists I have working on this?"

"She doesn't need to see the others right now." Demona spoke for me and I felt a bit relieved. I wasn't really ready to see what the disease was doing to them, but I thought it might sound heartless to say I didn't want to see them. She spared me that.

"Now Demona, you don't have the right to make her choices for her." Goliath spoke and my eyes widened a little at the gall. I turned to look at him.

"She's my clan leader, she has every right." I told him firmly. "I need to see the scientists first." I spoke coldly and turned to Owen. "Here, I'll take the box. Thank you for carrying it." I told him more gently and moved closer. I didn't want to lose that box, it was all I had to offer other than blood that might not work.

"It is my clan Goliath, I'd appreciate you not challenging my leadership." Demona spoke firmly to him and I wanted to see the look on his face, or hers, but I walked up to the lab doors instead.

"Did you manipulate her into joining your clan while in the Labyrinth or was she already under your thumb?" Goliath asked, his voice grating on my nerves. I did what I could to ignore the start of the bickering between Demona and Goliath, by focusing on the lab.

"Dr. Lambert, this is Lilith." Fox introduced me to a woman in a lab coat with curly long hair. I watched how she reacted to meeting me, and from the lack of at the least, widening eyes, she must have seen a lot while working here already.

"It's good to meet you Lilith." Dr. Lambert glanced at the other gargoyles, so I did too. Demona's arms were crossed and she was looking away from a very irritated looking Goliath. Angela was just watching this and her eyes caught mine for a moment; a brief moment where my betrayal ran a second fiddle to her parents' behavior. "I'm glad you are willing to help. So far the only lead we have is in your blood."

"I have some," My words stopped for a moment. "training," I didn't want to tell a human I was programmed, it was embarrassing, especially considering how it had caused me problems last night, "in science. I've been working on deciphering the doctor's notes for a while."

"I received a copy of those notes." Dr. Lambert looked at my box, so I moved to the right and put it on the table, pushing it toward her a bit. I had some programming; she had a full degree and was apparently the best in the business. Still, it hurt to share what I'd been trying to fix on my own. I wished I could do it.

"I want to help." I heard the note of pleading in my voice. "I need to help." If she said no, I'd have no choice but to give up my research and just donate blood, but I needed to do more than that.

"Lilith." Demona's voice was concerned and I glanced at her. My face pleading for her to understand that giving blood wasn't enough, couldn't be enough. "I know you'll try, but prepare 

yourself for disappointment." Demona's eyes moved to the doctor. "Lilith will be helping." She ordered the woman and I saw the threat she gave in her stance, all for me.

"I'm not so sure she should." Goliath spoke, but the Doctor spoke at the same time.

"Sure, I'll be glad to have it." Dr. Lambert told me and the compassion in her eyes told me she understood. It was weird talking to a regular human like this, but I was getting somewhere, and that was good.

"Wait a minute." Goliath's voice rose a bit and I turned to look at him, as he stared hard at me.

I glared at him. "You put them underground, and I'll be damned if I let you turn away any help they could get before they are allowed to glide in the skies like they were meant to. You will not stop me." My voice was cold and I stared hate at him. "You condemned them to a half life, and they deserved more. How would you like to live in a cave and never see the sky?"

He looked shocked, and then ashamed. I nodded and turned away from him.

He didn't know when to shut up. "Still, we aren't sure you are trustworthy. We've believed you before Lilith, and you know what happened. I don't want to approve this only to find out you needed to be closer to tighten the noose around their necks."

I couldn't even dignify his suspicion that I'd kill them, it was just too insane, so I focused on him and his inability to see what he'd done to me as well. "You mean I was supposed to just glide up and ask your detective to arrest you for kidnapping? I could still do that couldn't I?" I turned back to him, and noticed that Demona looked amused and was leaning against the wall watching us. "My clan and my clan leader, you really think you did no wrong when you stole so much from me. I just don't understand how you can delude yourself into thinking you're the hero here. You're wasting my time, and time is the most precious thing we have right now."

I ignored his lack of permission and followed the doctor into the lab to see what she'd found. Eventually he stopped talking to me, but the sniping between Demona and Goliath was giving me a headache.

I really appreciated her agreeing to let me help, and her insistence that I not do it alone, but couldn't they just be quiet for a little while? I noticed the pained look in Angela's eyes and knew I wasn't the only one with a headache.

…………………………………………..

Prompt: Gone: section 47

…………………………………………...

"You have to eat!" Demona spoke firmly as I started through the kitchen. I glanced at the kitchen and could see dinner wasn't done. It was just now being started. There was a long glide to the castle.



"I could grab something in the lab." I told her, but she turned to face me fully and her eyes glowed red. I stopped moving.

"Lilith, you have barely eaten this week, you've had us rushing out of here to race to the city every time you wake up and we have to glide hard to make it back before sunrise because there is always just one more experiment, or one more piece of data to look at. This isn't healthy. In fact it's gotten rather dangerous. If we don't make it back in time you still will turn to stone."

"Well, I guess I could set an alarm for leaving." I offered as I considered what would happen if we didn't make it back. Would Demona watch over me during the day if we were stuck on the top of some small business?

"No, that isn't enough." Demona tossed something into a frying pan and it sizzled. "I told you to prepare yourself for disappointment. You haven't done that have you?"

I put the disk I'd just copied into my hidden pocket in the loincloth and moved to rest my hands on the back of a chair and looked at her. I couldn't just give up like that, my clan brothers and sisters needed me. Brentwood looked like any day now he'd die, and Malibu wasn't any better. The larger males appeared to be doing a little better, and Delilah's disease was coming in spurts and pauses, making horrible progress only to stop for a few days before starting again. They needed me, I was the only one given useful programming for this. The doctor was cruel enough to give me the key to the disease too, hidden in the programming, and just out of reach while I watched them die. I had to find the secret.

Demona's voice softened and her tense body slumped. "They aren't going to make it Lilith. I'm so sorry that you are hurting like this, but death, few people can fight death. It is no shame that you tried, that you tried so hard, but it just isn't going to happen for them."

Tears clouded my vision, but it went red anyway. "No, I have to do it. They are counting on me, even Delilah." Delilah had finally said a kind word to me just yesterday, she thanked me. I hadn't done anything worth thanking yet.

"Lilith." Demona moved closer and I took a deep breath, seeing something in her eyes that alarmed me, compassion and pain for me. "While you were copying more of the records I received a phone call." She was right in front of me and my heart stopped. "Brentwood didn't wake from his stone sleep today."

"NO!" My wings curled around my body protectively as I started to lean forward into the chair. "I just need a little longer, no." My voice cracked. Tears streamed down my face and I could breath. "Dammit, just a little longer."

"Oh Lilith." Demona moved forward and pulled me toward her, wrapping her wings around me. "You've been trying so hard. They know that."

"I failed him." I buried my head into her shoulder.



"No, you didn't. You did everything possible. The doctor failed him, failed them all. The human did this Lilith, and it is not your fault." Demona held me tight. "When my people find him, I swear to you, he will pay for this."

And I wanted him to pay. I gasped in my pained breath. I wanted him to contract this damned disease, but it wasn't something he could catch, he deserved it, but he'd have to die another way.

Brentwood was such a sweet male. He brought me a drawing at his last check up, it was crude and childlike, but it was for me. Now he was gone.

Even if I found a cure, it would never work on stone. He really was gone.

It took a while for me to calm down and she held me tightly the entire time. I didn't want to pull away, but the smell of dinner started to smell burnt. She stared at me a moment when I pulled back and her concern was so visible I almost teared up again, but I pointed toward the food cooking.

She moved to dish us up a simple and slightly singed meal. I felt like I just collapsed into the chair, too weak to do it slower. I stared at my plate and found no appetite.

"It isn't fair that I'll survive. I didn't do anything special, anything worthy of this. My life has been so much better than theirs." I spoke softly. "Why should all they get is that life underground? I wanted them to be able to glide through the city. I wanted them to wake up to the sunset in the distance."

"I do understand Lilith. I wanted a better life for my first clan as well, only to watch humans kill them all." Demona rested a hand over mine and I stared at them. "It will always hurt Lilith, I won't lie to you. Eventually you move on, but the loss is always there and I'm so sorry that you will feel that."

I turned my hand in hers to hold hers. I gripped it tighter, needing her strength. "I have to keep trying." I spoke, but my voice sounded so tired and old.

"I wish you didn't, but I can see you do." Demona spoke gently. "Just, keep in mind that trying is all you can do, and they should appreciate that you try. I've seen them, and I'd be surprised if Malibu wakes tomorrow Lilith. You need to be prepared to say your goodbyes tonight."

My heart clenched as I thought of Malibu. He was just as sick as Brentwood, or as Brentwood was. I wasn't making enough progress to think I'd make it in time for the end of the night. I was going to lose him too.

I couldn't handle it if he gave me anything tonight. I felt selfish praying that he was too weak to want to reward me for helping, because I wasn't really helping. I didn't want to burst into tears right in front of him.



I only managed a few bites of dinner and Demona just stared at me for a moment when I stopped eating. She took my plate from me and scraped the rest into the garbage. I had never not finished a meal she made me, and even as upset as I was, I felt guilty to see food being thrown away.

We started out to the castle, but I didn't glide as fast as I normally did. I took my time to control my emotions, to try and be stronger, because now my clan would need me in another way. I had just started to bond with them, and they had always known each other. The survivors should be terrified and grieving. I couldn't ask for comfort from them, they needed me to be strong. I needed to make them believe I could fix this, even though I could now see it was probably hopeless. I needed them to go to stone sleep in the morning believing they'd wake up. Their last moments shouldn't be filled with fear.


	21. Chapter 21

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

………………………………………….

Prompt: Awkward Moment: section 48

………………………………………….

I felt shaky as we moved to land on the castle, I could see the statue that had been Brentwood and the other clones nearby. It had almost shaken all the work I'd done to be strong tonight.

I felt Demona's wing brush me and I glanced over at her as my feet hit the stone. She gave me a tender look and her wing brushed me again, before she caped it around her and her expression became more guarded. The Wyvern clan approached and I had to pull my eyes away from Brentwood to face them.

"Lilith." Angela spoke, and I could tell she'd been crying earlier. It made me feel a bit better about her that she had cried. I nodded to her and turned to glance at Brentwood and the others. My eyes traveled to Malibu almost against my will as I compared him to how Brentwood looked last night. It wasn't comforting to see the rough rashes over so much of him.

"Look, I'm sorry for your loss and all." Brooklyn spoke quietly and I turned to stare at him in surprise. He had, even just yesterday, claimed I was here to prevent a cure from being found. I just stared at him, my eyes cold. I didn't want to feel and focusing on him made that easier. I felt nothing but a small hint of satisfaction at how awkward he looked apologizing. I focused on that so I didn't stare at Malibu.

"I need to get to work." I muttered, trying not to look at the clones, but I could tell they were coming closer. I really didn't know if I could do this.

"Lily." A voice spoke, so soft and hesitant. I clenched my fists, to keep my pain in my hands as I turned to look at Malibu. He moved slowly, watching me carefully. "Brentwood's not waking up." Malibu had been told to call me Lilith before, but I didn't correct him now.

My talons almost cut into my skin, but I did my best to not tear up as I looked at him. He really didn't understand what was happening to him, to any of them. He was breaking my heart, but I did my best to smile at him. "I heard. I guess he was extra tired." I lied right to his face.

He paused and appeared to consider that hard. He nodded and just turned toward the others. "I better go rest, I don't want to be extra tired." He told them and I felt myself whimper, but I did my best to not let it make much noise.

The other males nodded their heads and followed him, but Delilah stood there staring at me. She was smart enough to know better. I just stared at her, not sure how I could apologize for being too late for Brentwood. For thinking I might never figure this out. "I wish I was the one they made smart." Delilah's voice was harsh. "I hate this. I can't do anything."



I didn't really feel like the smart one, but I just lowered my gaze as she stared at me. I was submitting out of pity really, because it hurt to know she felt this. My 'smarts' weren't helping. I couldn't do anything either. As she stared at me it felt like an increasingly awkward moment. I should say something, I knew that, but all the smarts she claimed I had weren't paying attention and I had no clue what to do.

Angela stepped closer. "I'm sure Lilith won't stop until this is figured out." Angela told Delilah, and I just nodded weakly. I knew why I hadn't said that, but I didn't say it, not in front of Delilah. I wasn't so sure there was a cure anymore. I was just doing all I could to be here, knowing it was going to hurt when I failed.

Delilah just stared at me for far too long before she nodded. "You'll figure it out." She muttered and wrapped her wings and arms around her torso, looking so fragile. I could see her skin was blemished like the others, only it wasn't covering nearly the same amount of her body. She'd be the last to die. My heart ached for her, and as she walked away I stared at her back.

"I should get to work." I spoke softly, reluctant to do it, because each day I didn't solve this was another day someone could die. I didn't want to go down there and see the Doctor, to hear her tell me the last test wasn't inconclusive yet again.

I didn't know how much longer I could take this and I felt selfish for thinking that, because I, at least, wasn't dying.

……………..

"Lilith, how are you holding up?" Dr. Lambert asked and I could understand why she came over to say that. I was hunched over the microscope staring at the little killers. I was a little surprised to feel her hands touch my shoulders and I looked up to see the human looking concerned.

I was about ready to say I was fine, but then I just stopped, my mouth opened with the lie. She looked like she understood. "Is this the first time you've seen death?" She asked and my throat started to feel like it was closing up. My eyes teared up and I damned myself for the weakness. I didn't have time for this.

I glanced around and for the first time ever, didn't see Demona in a corner of the lab. She normally was there. It explained why Dr. Lambert felt safe enough to come closer to me. I knew the Doctor had been rather kind to me, but a glare from Demona kept it at a distance. Demona didn't like humans, I just didn't think much about them, but when Dr. Lambert wiped my tear away I started to change my mind a bit. "I became a medical examiner and a researcher to avoid that personal connection. It always hurts to lose a patient, and you lost a family member as well." My tears increased with her words. She was lousy at comforting, but I couldn't deny this was trying. "Lilith, you need to take a break."

"I can't." I told her quietly. "I'm only good at night, that isn't enough time."

"Everyone else on this project takes some time off during the day to unwind." Dr. Lambert told me. My eyes started to burn at that thought. They should be working on this, my clan was 

dying. "Tired minds don't come up with new ideas." She explained. "I came up with this latest testing plan while eating ice cream and watching a made for TV movie. I needed the time to not focus so I could see it. You need that even more than I do, you have a lot more than a reputation at stake here."

I sighed heavily and my shoulders slumped as I admitted to myself that I was running on empty. My mind just kept circulating around what we'd already done, and no new ideas were coming to me. She squeezed one of my shoulders and stood up a bit taller, that's when I realized how close she'd gotten to me. "I've worked on friends before, and if I thought I could have spared you that pain I would have." The Doctor gave me a weak smile.

Her stance became more relaxed. "Could you go find Goliath and get a blood sample? I want to test his DNA and compare it to yours and the other clones. After that, we're just waiting for results. You should take that time and do whatever gargoyles do for fun."

I grabbed the needles and test tubes I'd need, and I expected he wouldn't be thrilled to see me when he caught a glimpse of them. I glanced around the lab again, a little confused as to why Demona and Goliath weren't here. She usually watched over me and he usually just watched me.

I was irritated to be hunting him down, but I methodically considered where to find him and didn't like that I suspected he was in the castle. I sighed as I made my way to a window, because I wasn't getting in the elevator.

I heard his deep voice before I made it that far and I slowed down as I heard him say my name. "I told her about Lilith and she was interested."

Demona's voice was harsh and angry. "What right do you have to interfere with MY clan?" I stopped walking and moved toward the wall as silently as I could as I tried to understand what they were arguing about, because it was clearly about me.

"You know how hard it is for our lesbian sisters. How can you be so selfish as to deny her an opportunity to meet another of her kind?" His voice was a growl and I stood stunned as it dawned on me, he'd found another lesbian.

"And I suppose you expect that if she found a mate she should leave my clan, rather than having my clan absorb the pair?" Demona's voice was cutting and my heart ached at her words. Did she want another lesbian in our clan? One that was a real gargoyle and not a clone? "No, Lilith isn't going anywhere. Not to meet this female and not to leave me for Japan."

I let out a slow breath as my panic started to fade. She wasn't talking about bringing the other female here yet, maybe Demona wouldn't see that she could have a female without all the programming issues I had. I had shocked her our one night together, with my words. She didn't like hurting me, and apparently I liked being hurt. Or at least I was programmed to like it.



"Clan leaders have a responsibility. Even you should understand this." He growled and I blinked hard and pulled my bag of needles and test tubes closer to my chest as I listened. He was fighting for me to have a mate, which was really unexpected.

"I take care of my clan just fine. I don't need your help." There was a click of talons on the floor and I heard Demona's voice go quieter, but still angry. "So you tell that Japanese whore that she doesn't need to come visit here either."

I felt like a tone of stone that had been encasing me just disappeared as Demona said that. I was enough for her, clone and issues, she wasn't looking at this other female to replace me either. She didn't want me to leave and she didn't want an excuse to meet someone else.

"Who is there?" Goliath's voice was commanding and I almost found myself saying Master as I answered.

"Me." I bit back the programming and felt the blush covering my face at this awkward moment. I'd been caught eavesdropping on them talking about me. I wished I could just turn around and walk away, but I slowly took a step forward and turned to the side to see they were just inside a small room. He was almost hunched over Demona in silent threat, but she was just looking at me, even as he stood up and took a step back from her.

"I was telling Demona that I found a clan with a lesbian." Goliath spoke, but I watched Demona's expression. She looked irritated and a bit concerned. Why would she need to worry? I was part of her clan, and I liked that. She was, words escaped me. She was special, and graceful, and giving. Okay, maybe I could think of the words. I gave her a small smile.

"I'm fine here." I turned to him, unsure of what he was doing.

"You told me I abandoned the clones, and you were right. It seemed the right thing to do, but I can see now that I was unfair. I don't want to be unfair to you." He spoke softer. "The Ishimura clan is a very honorable one, and they are eager to meet you."

"That is enough." Demona's voice cut through the room. "She is my clan and I did not give you permission to do this."

"She needs a mate!" Goliath's voice rose again and I was stunned to see them start to argue so quickly with me right here.

"I have a mate." I spoke firmly, but quietly. "I don't need to leave my clan for one, I have one." I glanced at Demona a little fearfully, hoping it was okay I called her my mate. I had never said it out loud before. I swallowed hard and let out a deep breath at her small smile, before turning to Goliath. "We need a sample of your blood." I told him, but he was still looking too stunned to understand me.

"You found a human?" He asked quietly and I got the impression he knew better, but I shook my head no and pulled my bag of medical supplies forward without speaking.

"Lilith told me you told her of the clans concerns when I was a hatchling." Demona spoke quietly and I found I couldn't look into his stunned expression as she spoke. I pulled the needle out and found his arm didn't resist as I held it and pushed the needle into his skin. "I was only a slow bloomer in one way Goliath. I always knew I liked females, but there were no females for me in the clan. I had no desire to leave my clan for a mate." I loaded the test tube and his red blood filled it quickly. There was too much silence and he wasn't moving much. I loaded another test tube as Demona spoke more softly. "Lilith is my miracle. That bastard made her to replace me, but she replaced him."

It was very hard to remain invisible while putting the blood samples in the bag, but even though this was about me, I could feel the unresolved issues between them. I pulled the needle out, but his jerking back almost made me slice his vein wide opened. He didn't even notice, he was staring at Demona.

I pulled it out the rest of the way carefully and he pulled his arm away after that more slowly. "So what we had was not real?" He spoke and I wished I wasn't here for this. She was my mate, but I could tell this was dangerous to us.

"It was real." Demona spoke and I didn't like the moment where her eyes looked at him with affection. "I did, foolishly, love you." Her hardening eyes comforted me and the affection being turned to me even as I was walking backward slowly to leave them to this talk helped even more. "But in the time before you and in the time since, I had always dreamed of a female lover."

I could see him looking at me as well, and I stopped backing up. He studied me. "Always my clones Demona?"

"She is far more than a clone of you." I felt my heart stop, and fill with love, at her words. She saw me, I could hear that, and I was so grateful. "Since this issue is resolved, I need to get back to the lab. My mate needs me." Demona spoke and turned toward the door I'd been trying to make it too subtly. Her wing caressed mine and her arm took mine, to guide me out the door. He didn't follow to watch me like he normally did.


	22. Chapter 22

Lone Clone

By Princess Alexandria

…………………………………………

Prompt: First Date: section 49

………………………………………….

I watched as Dr. Lambert took the blood I'd managed to steal from Goliath while he was too stunned to notice. "Break." Dr. Lambert stared into my eyes meaningfully. I heard the shuffle of talons on the floor behind me and the doctor glanced back.

I looked back to see Demona glaring at the doctor and my opinion of the human went up when she didn't back down or cower. Dr. Lambert just touched my arm gently. "Lilith, go out and do something fun, or relax. Our night is over, the results won't be back for hours."

"But Malibu." I protested quietly. I saw regret in the doctor's face at my words.

"I'll give him an extra dose of the experimental antidote." The doctor said quietly and I nodded. That hadn't helped Brentwood last night, and the tests were still inconclusive. It was just all we had. "I wish you all didn't turn to stone." The doctor spoke and I could hear some helplessness in her voice as well. "It just makes this so much more complicated."

"I know. I'm not all that fond of it either." I sighed and glanced at Demona, the only one of us free of that inconvenience.

"I guess I have to take a break." I told her. I was still uneasy about not working, but I did understand why I'd need a break. My mind was just frozen and wrapping around the same ideas constantly. I needed a fresh perspective.

I felt like I was abandoning my brother as I stared at the table I'd worked at. I glanced around at the various researchers still hard at work and then back at the doctor. Doctor Lambert's eyes seemed to say she understood, but that this really was for the best. I sighed heavily and turned back to Demona. My mate.

Demona had been amazing for me through all of this. I stared at her even as she took a step toward me. "Well, if you're taking a break, I could really use a glide." Demona's eyes seemed to open up and I could see how stressed she was, just being here, and not doubt her arguments with Goliath were wearing on her. I felt a bit guilty for putting her through it, so I nodded and moved with her toward the door.

She took my hand once she was close enough and I felt her squeeze it comfortingly. I held hers tightly, grateful I wasn't alone.

We had to go past the room I'd found her and Goliath arguing in to get to the only opening window on this floor. Not every floor had one, but Fox had explained that she'd had it put in for the clan, since this was the medical floor. As I passed that room I glanced in, almost expecting to see Goliath still staring at the wall in shock, but he wasn't there.

"I'm sorry I'm forcing you to be here." I spoke quietly in front of the opened window. "I know it can't be easy."

"I don't want you to have any regrets here Lilith." Demona spoke gently and I look over at her. She caressed my hair, which was partly in my eyes again. "If they can be helped, I know you'll do it, but if they can't, you've tried. No one here can say you haven't tried." Demona sighed and I thought her eyes were sad. "Our clan might be a little small for you, and I know you care what this clan thinks. It couldn't hurt to show them you aren't evil."

"I'm very happy with the clan I have." I spoke softly and moved my hand up to caress her arm as it stopped caressing my hair. "Very happy." I spoke more firmly.

She smiled just a little. "So am I." She moved to the window. "Try and keep up. You haven't really trained anymore than racing back and forth from home to here. I don't want you getting rusty so soon after making such strides."

My back ached a bit from being hunched over a microscope for so long, and I hadn't even noticed it until my wings were pulled tight by the wind. I stretched my wings and did a corkscrew just to prove to myself I still could, before I found Demona in the distance and grinned as I realized she was racing away from me, and apparently we were playing tag.

As I turned the corner of a building I gasped and did my best to slow down as I found Demona doing that turn she was so fond of and I looped as fast as I could with a laugh as she was suddenly chasing me. "Rules, there have to be rules!" I yelled out as I started to race away.

"There are rules, I just don't share them with you." Demona yelled out and I loved that hint of laughter in her voice. I took a sharp turn around the building to the side of me and pulled up as fast as I could. If even for a moment she didn't know where I was it would buy me more time to get a little more distance on her. She was faster in the air than I was, I needed all the help I could get.

I was holding my own, at least for a while, but somehow she managed to come down from above me while I was checking to see how close she was. Her arms wrapped around me, trapping my wings to my body and I gasped for a moment, before I felt her start to hold me up in the air. "I was worried you'd be rusty, but you are only a little slower." Her voice whispered into my ear and I relaxed into her hold. "Lilith?"

"I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you." My voice cracked and tears started to fill my eyes as the past week or so caught up with me.

"Oh shh." Her arms tightened around me and I felt us descending. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere." As the rooftop got closer I had to shift, but as soon as we were down I turned around and pulled her to me, burying my head on her shoulder. "Oh Lilith, I know this is hard on you. You have no idea how grateful I was that you weren't sick as well." I was hugged tightly and I sighed, content to be here. We rarely had time for this, I was so busy.

I can't believe I hadn't been held like this in days. How did I survive them?

She just held me, caressing my hair every so often, and made no motion to let me go. I used that to my advantage by not letting her go either.

"We aren't far from Nightstone." Demona told me and I wasn't sure why for a moment. "I could order us a nice dinner and we could just sit in my back office." Her back office had a large couch and a television. "We could just do nothing for a while."

She pulled back and seemed to study my face. "We could watch a movie, or just talk." Her hand caressed my hair. "You're my mate and we've never dated." My eyes widened. "I want fond memories of sitting up all night talking with you, and glides over the lake in the moonlight." My heart ached at her words, but it was a good ache. "I want you to know that even though there are options out there for you, that I am the best one to be your mate. I was upset when Goliath found another like us. I don't want there to be doubts Lilith."

"I have no doubts." I told her quickly. I'd never once considered the Japanese female. True I hadn't met her, but I felt no need to.

"I'll never age, I will always be as I am now." Demona spoke quietly. "I am welcome in no clan other than the one I made with you. It is possible that our clan will not grow in your lifetime."

"I don't think I'd want to share you with a clan." I told her and I believed it. We had all our nights if we wanted, to be together. Lately that hadn't been true, and that was because I had a responsibility to the other clones. They were clan and not clan to me. We came from the same place, but they didn't live with me and I didn't want them too. They took all of my energy and while I liked feeling accepted now, I just couldn't imagine what my life would have been if I'd accepted my role in their clan by being Thailog's whore. I'd never have a free moment, because the males needed so much care and always would. "And I'm not even a year old. If my age, my lack of real experience, doesn't concern you, why would your age concern me? I am much younger than anyone who might even consider me. For me, forty years or a thousand are all the same. I can't comprehend either of them." I stared into her eyes. "I don't need to date you, I have already chosen my mate."

She smiled just a little. "Mates can date as well." She sounded just a little amused. My first thought when she said that was that she'd date someone else, but then it dawned on me that mates date each other. I really hated my programming, it left so much out. Of course, I wasn't made to date. The way our relationship became sexual was more in line with my understanding of the whole process, but then she liked to push me past my programming. I loved that about her.

"We're dating in your office?" I asked, unsure of that. It seemed strange.

"Well, I'd take you to a play if the humans weren't everywhere, but they are. I'd prefer a human free evening." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but I knew she'd prefer every evening to be human free. I just nodded. Her office was nice, so was her house. But her office was close and that made it the winner. 

I felt guilty about having fun when I should be working, to be making personal plans made me feel like I was abandoning the others, but I still had hours of my enforced break and I couldn't imagine anything else I'd rather do than spend it with Demona.

We took off and this time Demona had her remote so the window of her hidden office opened for us. I had to pull my wings in very tight to make the landing and I shifted fast so I didn't find myself ramming into the opposite wall. I was a little proud when I managed it and looking over at Demona she was just grinning at me, as if she knew my thoughts.

"I'll just make a call for our dinner. I have the local restaurants trained to deliver at security and they leave it on my desk if I'm not in my main office." Demona explained and I just nodded. I watched her move to her second desk and use the phone. Words about chow mein made me smile, I liked Chinese food, but she didn't know how to make many dishes at home. I only got Chinese food when she was tired after a bad day at work. She wasn't likely to be a little grumpy tonight so it would make this treat much better.

I moved to sit on the couch and just watched her call security with their instructions as well. She looked so powerful giving orders and I loved watching it. She hung up and gave me a quizzical look, so I just blushed, because I still hadn't learned how not to do that, and looked away.

"I expect we will have food in about thirty minutes. They know better than to make me wait longer than that." Demona spoke and walked toward me and the couch. She was so graceful even just sitting down looked beautiful when she did it. "None of my sisters ever looked at me the way you do." She spoke softly, her voice a hint deeper than normal. I moved to stare into her eyes. "I doubt I will ever tire of the way you look at me."

At that moment, the way she looked at me had my heart pounding. There was naked affection in her eyes. I didn't know what to say about her words, but I wanted to cuddle into her. If the seat didn't make it so awkward I would have. Instead I just reached out and took her hand. I had no words, so I didn't try and speak. She seemed to understand.

"I suppose on our first date we should talk." Demona spoke, her voice a bit rough and I looked up to see hungry eyes. She didn't look like she wanted to talk, she looked like she wanted something else entirely. I wanted that too. "Dinner is on the way." She reminded me and I sighed. We really shouldn't start something yet, if a human would be dropping dinner off in the other room soon. This was our first date, but I found the structure a bit frustrating.

………………………………………………

Prompt: credit – section 50

………………………………………………

My eyes were a little wide as I stormed into the lab. Sunrise was coming soon, way too soon, but I had to share my idea with the doctor. Demona was right behind me and I glanced at her, taking in the confidence she projected. She sure didn't look like we'd spent time talking, eating dinner and then mating on her desk, on her couch, and on the floor. She looked perfect, and I tore my eyes from her to focus on the thought I'd had.

"Lilith, you're never here this late." Dr. Lambert glanced at the clock, and she was right. I should be nearly home, or failing that safely tucked into Demona's secret office. If my post-coital mind hadn't drifted and Demona hadn't said what she did I would have stayed in her arms until nearly sunrise, but I had to be here. Demona should be credited with my breakthrough, but there was no way I'd share how exactly it happened.

"Stone, the secret is in the stone." I told her quickly. I had no time to communicate and I needed her to work through the day when I couldn't. "It's like cancer of the stone. The stone is growing uncontrollably." My voice was a bit loud as I spoke as fast as I could. The analogy was imperfect but I had little time for exact words. "We need to study the stone I turn to and compare it to the others. It isn't in the blood, it's in the stone."

"Wow, I guess a break really does help." Dr. Lambert's eyes were wide. "How can we study that?" She asked me and seemed to be considering it herself.

"We need to capture the stone from our awakening and study it." I told her. My mind cringed at another need. "We need to study Brentwood too." That would be desecration, he'd need to be scrapped and studied, because he would not give off stone fragments, he would not wake. I didn't think my suggestion would go well with the clan, but in order to save the others we needed to do some rather disgusting things to the dead.

"She is prepared to stay here for the day." Demona spoke up and I glanced at her. Demona couldn't stay, not with humans who didn't know her secret around. I was nervous about this, I felt unsafe. "If anything happens to her, it will be your head I go after first Dr. Lambert."

It was late and I saw her glance at the clock. "I need to go Lilith." She sounded pained.

"I'll be okay." I told her, but I was nervous. I did what I could to hide that, because I had to do this.

"I'll call Fox and inform her of this," Demona's eyes burned into the doctor as she talked to me. "but don't mistake me human, I know how to make the remaining seconds of your life feel like eternity, if you allow any harm to come to Lilith. She may have the cure in her, but if you break this golden egg you won't be able to hide."

Dr. Lambert seemed a bit nervous then. Demona turned and stormed out and I stood there for a moment watching, before I turned back to the doctor. "We don't have time. You need samples today and it wouldn't hurt to get samples from Brentwood before the sun sets."

"Hector," Dr. Lambert's voice rose. "Get up to the castle and…" She started to rattle off all the things that needed to be done. I took that moment to take a deep breath. Every word she said reassured me she understood what needed to be done even better than I did. Once Hector took off to do as he was told, Dr. Lambert started issuing other orders and the two other researchers starting adding to it, as assistants scrambled to do what they were told.

I was able to think for a moment, and I remembered Demona's words, said in jest as we cuddled. "Don't fall asleep, I would really hate to spend my day trapped in stone and fully conscious of it, even if it is in your arms." It was teasing, but it had filled me with horror as I realized it was my inspiration for this last ditch effort. I shook as I suspected how Brentwood really died, trapped and not strong enough to break through the stone. He would have suffocated and been unable to move.

"Oh god, please wake up tomorrow Malibu." A tear fell from my eye as I whispered that.

"Let's get you set upstairs. It will be easier to collect samples from your wake up call if you all are together." Dr. Lambert told me and I nodded. She started for the elevator, but I pointed to the window. I didn't have time to take the stairs, and the elevator was so small.

I noticed a few surprised faces as I glided over the castle walls, and I saw the doctor watching me, as well as Elisa as I took a look around.

"I don't feel extra tired." Malibu told me and I nodded as I took a spot right next to him. We both had tarps of some sort to stand on and he looked down at his curiously and I just sighed. I had to do this for him. A tear traveled down my cheek as I held my pain in, knowing he was afraid, just like everyone else, that he wouldn't wake up.

As the sun started to rise I couldn't fight it anymore. I curled up into a small ball and pulled my body tight to protect myself. I knew Fox was around, but she wasn't here, and Demona couldn't be here. I had to protect myself as best I could. Maybe getting a tarp around me for collection would be easier, I comforted myself on my cowardice as the sun came up.

………………….

I roared and stretched my wings out. The bag startled me and seeing nothing but white almost made me panic, but I stopped myself just short of shredding my way out. I started to remember. I could see light through the bag, and I found hands untying something and fresh air. My heart was hammering, and nightmares of my creation played behind my eyes, but I fought my instincts and didn't rush the bag down. I could hear some growling and ripping, so I knew Delilah wasn't as successful as I was at controlling herself. I knew that her bag still held her stone, the folds would hold it, but we'd need more of mine. I couldn't fight like she was.

It pooled under me and I saw Fox looking at me in concern. Her eyes moved to the side and the doctor was pulling the bag down off of Malibu. "No!" I yelled out as I saw the stone.

I had taken a step out of my own stone shards and the doctor was up and running. I barely paid any attention to her as she made her way to the wall, but when she turned with a hammer in hand and wide eyes I knew I'd been right. I ran up to Malibu, but the human doctor had managed to beat me there, she raised the hammer and someone shouted as she started to bring it down.

"Don't!" I yelled to Brooklyn, but he wasn't listening, he was moving fast to stop the doctor. I pounced on him, doing my best to keep him away. "Do it!" I yelled to Dr. Lambert, even as more clan converged on us. We didn't have time to explain much. "He's still alive!" I yelled out, hoping to stop them long enough to save my brother.

The hammer rung as it struck stone. I'd look, but Brooklyn was squirming and fighting. "Traitor!" He yelled out. "Killing your own clan." The hammer sounded again.

"That's it, breath." The doctor's voice called out and I could no longer hear everyone rushing our way.

"Oh my god!" Someone sounded stunned, and Brooklyn appeared to notice, because his fight left him. I sat back on my legs and looked up to see Malibu's beak free and he was still encased in stone. I could see bloody cuts and the crack that the doctor had her fingers in as she tried to pull more stone away from his face.

I was the second gargoyle to rush to aid her. Hudson brushed the doctor to the side and reached in himself to pull at the encasing stone.

"We need to get him out. His chest can't move enough to take a good breath." The doctor explained and I picked up the hammer she'd used. I might break his ribs, but that heals, I thought as I pulled my hand back and slammed the hammer into the chest of the male. I could hear crying, but I focused on the crack and hit him again, doing my best to just hit him hard enough to crack stone. Crumbles of stone started to fall as his chest expands and then contracted. I'd done it.

"Help." Malibu's voice was weak and I reached into the cracks and startled to pull stone off of him. I heard the hammer scrape the ground and barely glanced down to see Goliath's hand pick it up.

"Just hard enough to break stone." I told him as I focused on Malibu's chest and torso. I heard the hammer fall and felt Malibu's body tense. His flesh was under my hands. Goliath dropped the hammer and I heard him cracking stone off of Malibu's back. I hope he was thinking enough to hit Malibu between the wings and not on them.

"Easy lad." Hudson spoke to Malibu as I felt Malibu try and struggle. The weakness in his body and the extra thickness of the stone making it obvious he needed help. "We'll get ya, just take it easy lad."

The cuts and cracks on his skin oozed blood, but I had to ignore that for now. A large piece over his stomach gave way as I pulled and I almost tossed it to the side, but suddenly there was a human there. "Give it to me." Dr. Lambert spoke and I froze to make sure I didn't toss it at her, since my body had been about to do that before she spoke. I handed the stone to her and Dr. Lambert called out.

"Jeremy, get this to the lab now. Run every test we did today on it." I watched another human move forward, before turning to my work again. We worked as a team, Goliath, Hudson, and I, ripping Malibu free. As his torso was completely free he collapsed and he was heavy with stone as I caught him.

"Lily." His voice was tearful as he stared at me, scared looking. I tried to give him a reassuring look.

"We'll get you out of here." I told him as Goliath helped me lower him to the ground. We started to work on his extremities and I started to be able to feel the eyes on me. I looked up to see all the clones and Wyvern clan staring. Most had very wide eyes. I focused down at Malibu, who was staring at me. "Everything will be okay." I told him, as I started to work on one of his hands.

After he was free he was put on a stretcher and I stayed kneeling on the ground, feeling exhausted as I watched the doctor wheel him away. He was weak, and had several scratches, some of which I had given him on accident while freeing him.

I should go to the lab and find out the results of the work they'd done during the day. I should go make sure Malibu was comfortable, but I felt like my muscles wouldn't support me if I moved. I just sat there and stared at the doorway. Tears started to obscure my vision. No one here seemed to realize yet that they'd just stood by as Brentwood died. I wasn't here, but I would have done it too. No one had any idea.

……………………..

"Baby?" Fox's voice was soft and I felt human hands rest on my shoulders. I turned just a little to the left to be able to see her. I started to look around and noticed the Wyvern clan still about, many glancing at me or the stone bits on the ground near me. The other clones were my concern though. I turned the other way. "Delilah took them downstairs." I glanced up at Fox and blinked. My eyes hurt and felt scratchy. I glanced around again.

"Did Dr. Lambert discover anything?" I asked with a scratchy voice. I had to get to work, I'd wasted enough time.

"She says your insight might be the breakthrough they were looking for. They just needed to check the stone fragments and see." Fox told me, but she pulled me into a hug and I leaned against her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm," my words trailed off. They would have been a lie. "He almost died." I spoke more quietly, thinking of his desperate eyes as he stared at me as if I could fix it. He was counting on me, not the doctor, not the others, Malibu was counting on me. I'm the one he'd begged for help, even though it was Hudson freeing his face. It was me, and I was terrified.

"If you hadn't figured it out, and had Dr. Lambert testing on Brentwood, he would have. He has tonight because of you Lilith." Fox spoke and I cringed. Would it have been better to let him die? What would it do to him to go into stone sleep again tonight? If we didn't come up with something tonight, would he survive another waking like tonight? I took a deep breath, and all the weight on my shoulders, that had left oh so briefly when I was in Demona's arms, returned.

I didn't want to go downstairs and see him stare at me with those eyes, those eyes that begged for my help. Still I shifted and Fox let go as I moved to stand up. "I wish I wasn't the smart one." I whispered, upset with the burden on me. "I need to get to work, and I don't feel all that smart. Why couldn't they have made me a doctor?" I turned to glance out at the sky and the city. "This is a nightmare." I stared up at the moon and took a few deep breaths. I wanted Demona, but what could she really do? I had to work.

"Lilith, this isn't all on your shoulders. I hired the best." Fox spoke and I turned to her. My lips bent in a small humorless smile, knowing Fox was right in one way, but the clones weren't looking at the human doctor to fix it, they were looking at me, their sister, to make it all okay again.

"Thank you for that. Dr. Lambert is great. She really is." I muttered as I stared at my hands and how I was gripping the castle wall as I stared over it into the night. I turned back and noticed all the bags had been removed as well, the samples of the stone on everyone was in the lab. I never even noticed them do it. I must have really been out of it. I sighed.

"Lilith, I'm sorry I assumed the worst." Brooklyn's voice was a shock and I looked up to see he'd moved closer to us. I wanted to feel something, anger, pain, but I couldn't feel anything. "I have to give you credit. You are doing everything possible, I can see that. You might have been blinded by Demona, but no one can say you don't stand by your clan."

I stared at him a moment. I couldn't thank him for that, if he'd left the dig at my mate out I could have, but there was no way I could accept that comment as given. If I did, it would mean his credit to me meant nothing, because I wouldn't be standing by my clan. Demona was my clan, more my clan than these people I was here to save actually. "You know, Delilah hated me on sight." I spoke quietly as I addressed him. He looked puzzled. "She was programmed to, but she learned to push past it. That's hard to do. She deserves some credit for managing it." He looked stumped now. "Funny how you've programmed yourself and you can't get past it."

I took moment to share a look with Fox, and glanced around at the others. No one stared at me with suspicion now, and that was new. I moved forward, to get back to work. I had a lot to do before the sun rose.

Demona would look in the lab for me first, she knew where I'd be.

………………………..

"Look at this." Dr. Lambert spoke and I turned to see her standing in front of another microscope. I also saw Demona leaning against a table watching me. I hadn't even seen her come in. I gave her a small smile, but Demona waved her hand and I knew she understood how important my work was to me. She was giving me permission to just continue what I was doing.

"What is it?" I asked as I moved to look at what had Dr. Lambert calling me over. I stared down at the slide and the skin on it. I blinked as I stared harder. "Whose is this?" I asked, because the cells weren't like the ones in my microscope at the other table. The sample I had been looking at was from Hollywood.

"That is the latest skin scrape from Malibu." Dr. Lambert sounded a little smug and I looked up at her, before staring back down at the slide. I blinked and leaned back as the doctor put another slide in the microscope.

I sat back and stared at the microscope without looking through it. "He's responding to the treatment isn't he?"

"Yes he is. I want to start injecting the others. We may have it Lilith." Dr. Lambert spoke and I felt like my heart was ready to explode with joy. I yelled out and picked the human up, spinning her around in spite of her alarmed yelp.

I turned to see Demona's eyes slightly wider as she stared at me, but she tilted her head and smiled. I grinned and turned back to the lab, before looking at her again. "He might make it." I told her and my voice was shaky.

I was hugged and held her tight. "Oh god, this evening was horrible." I whispered to her.

"I heard." Demona held me and I just stood still for the comfort for a moment. When I started to pull back she stared into my eyes.

"Lilith, we'll need more of your blood for this." Dr. Lambert spoke and I blinked, breaking my shared gaze with my mate and turned toward her.

"I'm on it." I told her and moved to find the needles. I was used to giving blood often now. It was finally going to pay off.

The lab was a storm of activity after that. I helped to produce the serum, and Dr. Lambert explained everything I didn't understand as she oversaw it all. It took three hours to have four vials ready.

Delilah watched me as she was injected. She nodded softly and gave me a weak smile. I turned to leave her room after that. She had tears in her eyes and I thought I'd respect her privacy.

Once all the clones were treated, and the doctor had plans to treat them again right before sunrise, I found myself standing in the hall. I took deep breaths and felt my body shaking a little.

"I was wrong, you are a warrior." Demona spoke and I was startled to see her appear in the doorway near me. "You fight with a syringe and test tubes, but you do fight, my love." I bit my lower lip just a little and she moved to touch my hair. "You've done all you could, more than I thought possible really. Maybe it's time to go home?"

"Home sounds good." I felt exhausted, the weeks of work and the emotional rollercoaster catching up with me.

We started to walk and I approached a sensitive topic. "Dr. Lambert said she's going to be working in the city for a while. She thought she could apprentice me, since I can't go to school."

Demona turned sharply and stared at me. I could see the no on her lips and I lowered my head. "I could have her visit Nightstone if that is what you want." Demona spoke and I jerked my head up to stare at her. "You want to be a doctor?"

"I want to understand, and go beyond my programming." I admitted. "I don't ever want to feel like I wasn't given enough again. I want to learn, learn the normal way."

"Okay. I'll let the human work with you, but if she says a word, breaks one of the many vows I'll make her give us, she won't live long." Demona spoke and I wondered if Natalie Lambert would want to teach me with such a threat over her head.

The end


End file.
